Schedule of Classes
Class times for Spring, 2006 have not been released yet.275.8 sec. 1 - Historical Perspectives on IP (Spring 2006)
Instructor: Robert P. Merges (view instructor's teaching evaluations | profile)
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Units: 2
Meeting Time: -
Meeting Location: -
Course Control Number (Non-1Ls): 49837
Prerequisite: Intro to IP.
This is a paper-writing seminar course. It begins with a review of some basic and important texts and articles outlining major issues in the history of intellectual property law, drawn from Robert P. Merges and Jane Ginsburg, Foundations of Intellectual Property (Foundation Press, 2004). We start with John Locke’s “labor theory” of property, continue on to Thomas Jefferson’s formative ideas on the importance of the public domain, and consider important chapters in the history of patent, copyright and trademark law from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The goal of the seminar is to thoroughly engage these materials, and then apply them to an important issue of interest to the student — including issues “of the moment: digital rights management, the revolution in patentable subject matter, the expansion of trademark law. The underlying premise is that this moment of rapid flux, when technological and economic forces impact IP law incessantly, is a perfect time to revisit the field’s history and basic principles.
Enrollment is limited.
Exam Notes: P
Special Notes: W, LE(25)
Course Category: Technology and Intellectual Property
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Books:
Books for this term are unavailable.
