275.3 – Introduction to Intellectual Property

Meeting Time:
TTu 11:15-12:30

Instructor:
Robert P. Merges
438 Law Building (North Addition)
510-643-6199
rmerges@law.berkeley.edu

ASP Tutors:
David Haskel and Will McGinty

Admin. Assistant:
Chris Swain,  793 Simon Tower (642‑0503)

This course is intended both for students who are interested in a general overview of intellectual property and as a gateway to Boalt’s Law and Technology program. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets (and other state IP-related areas of) law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and business methods, the challenges to copyright law posed by filesharing technology, the role and difficulties of protecting trademarks on the Internet, and the application of common law doctrines to the Internet.

Class Meeting Times: The class will meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8:45 am – 9:50 am in Room 100.

ASP Sessions: ASP sessions will take place Wednesdays from 8:45 to 9:45 am in Booth Auditorium.

Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10:30 – 11:50; or by appointment

Required Reading:
· Merges, Menell & Lemley, Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age (4th rev.
    edition, Aspen 2007) (IPNTA).
· Merges, Menell & Lemley, Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age: 2008 Case and
   Statutory Supplement (Aspen 2008) (Supp).
· Syllabus and Course Reader (CR) (available on course website)
· ASP Problems – Will be made available

Course Web-Site:
    ·  Updated Syllabus
    ·  Course Reader
    ·  Casebook website, which contains summaries of recent developments in intellectual property law

Grading
Grading is based primarily on an in-class open book examination.  The exam will be divided into three sections: Part I will comprise a series of multiple choice and/or short answer questions where you will be asked to fill in your answer on the examination form; Part II will present a conventional fact pattern and questions for which you will be required to prepare a concise memo explaining your analysis; Part III will be a policy-oriented question.  Examples of the types of questions for which you will be responsible are contained throughout the casebook in the form of problems and in the ASP materials.  Class participation will be used as a factor in determining grades for students who are near the P/H and H/HH borderlines.  In addition to the casebook, supplement (Supp.), and course reader (CR) assignments, students should be sure to review the relevant statute sections and carefully work through the problems listed for each class session.

 

Date  Topic  Materials; Statute; Problems
M 1/12
 PPT

Course Introduction

Overview

Casebook pages 1-31 

PATENT LAW

   

Tu 1/13
 PPT
 

Patent Overview

Subject Matter

117-28

§101, 128-39

W 1/14 ASP – Introduction; Patent: Intro & Subject Matter Problem  
Th 1/15
 PPT
Subject Matter §101, Problem 3-1 139-42, 1061-74, In re Bilski (CR)
M 1/19 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday  
Tu 1/20
 PPT

Utility

Enablement

144-58

158-169, §112

W 1/21

ASP – Patent: Section 101

 
Th 1/22
 PPT

Written Description

Novelty

173-182; Problem 3-5

185-195; Section 102; Problems 3-6, 3-7

 M 1/26
 PPT

Statutory Bars

Priority

Non-Obviousness

196-206 ; Problem 3-8

206-212

212-224

Tu 1/27
 PPT
Non-Obviousness (cont’d) §103, 224-237; 246-250, Ortho-McNeil v. Mylan Labs (CR), Problem 3-9
W 1/28

 ASP: Novelty and Obviousness

 
Th 1/29
 PPT

Infringement Analysis
 · Claim Construction, Literal Infringement

Doctrine of Equivalents

§271, 250-74

274-91 (problem 3-10, p. 303)

M 2/2
 PPT
Infringement Analysis (cont’d)

291-321,  Problem 3-11

Tu 2/3
 PPT

Defenses

Remedies

321-31, §§273, 282, Problem 3-12

348-70, §§283-87, In re Seagate (CR)

W 2/4 ASP – Patent Infringement  
Th 2/5
 PPT
Misuse, Antitrust Defenses, and Exhaustion

331-42; Independent Ink (CR)

Quanta (CR)

M 2/9
 PPT

Overview

Requirements – originality

383-92

392-402, 442-46, §§101 (definition of “created”) §102(a)
Problems 4-1, 4-12 

Tu 2/10
 PPT

Requirements continued – fixation, formalities

 

Limiting Doctrines (idea-expression)

402-11, §101 (definitions of “created,” “fixed,” “compilation,” “copies,” “phonorecords,” “literary works,” “motion pictures,”   “audiovisual work,” “sound recording,” “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works”); §§401 -12 (skim)

411-21, Problems 4-4, 4-5

W 2/11 ASP – Copyrightable subect matter  
Th 2/12
 PPT

Limiting Doctrines continued (useful article)

Government Works

Ownership
 · Initial Ownership
     · Work Made for Hire

421-31, §§101 (“useful article,” “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works,”), 102(b), 120, Problems  4-6, 4-7, 4-8

431-35, §105, Problem 4-9

446-54 §§ 101 (“work made for hire”), 201, 202

M 2/16 President’s Day  
Tu 2/17
 PPT

Joint Works and Collective Works

Duration and Renewal

455-61, §101 (“joint work”), Problem 4-14,
461-62 ,§§101 (“collective work”), 201(c)

465-69,  §§302-05 Problems 4-18, 4-19

W 2/18 ASP – Copyright: Ownership and Duration  
Th 2/19
 PPT

 Ownership

 · Division, Transfer, and Termination of Transfers

Infringement
 · Right to Copy

 

469-74, §§201(d), 203, 204, 205

 

474-82

M 2/23
 PPT
Infringement
 · Right to Copy
482-500, Problem 4-21, 4-22, 4-23
Tu 2/24
 PPT

Infringement continued

 · Derivative Work Right

Other Exclusive Rights

500-10 §§101 (“derivative work”), 103, 106

510-22, Problem 4-26, §§106,106A, 501, 109, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116, 119, 1101

W 2/25 ASP – Copyright: Rights and Infringement  
Th 2/26
 PPT
Defenses: Fair Use

522-55, Problems 4-29, 4-31; 555-569, Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley

Lennon v. Premise Media  (CR)

M 3/2
 PPT

Indirect Infringement

Remedies

569-80, Problem 4-32

625-32

Tu 3/3
 PPT
Computer Software 986-89, 1007-1034 Copyright Act §101 (“computer program”)
W 3/4 ASP Problem – Copyright: Software and Digital Works  
Th 3/5
 PPT
Open Source Licensing

1054-61; Jacobsen v. Katzer (CR)

M 3/9
 PPT
Digital Copyright 580-615, §§512, 1001-10, 1201-03, Perfect 10 v. Amazon, Problem 4-37, Problem 4-38

TRADEMARK LAW

   
Tu 3/10
 PPT

Introduction

Establishing TM Protection

633-40

640-64, Lanham Act §§ 45 (“commerce,”“use in commerce,” “trade name,” trademark,” “service mark,” “certification mark,” “collective mark”), 43(a),

W 3/11 ASP – Trademark Problems  
Th 3/12
 PPT
Establishing Protection (cont’d)

664-76

M 3/16
 PPT
Priority 676-95, Problems 5-1, 5-3
Tu 3/17
 PPT

Trademark Office Procedures

Incontestability

695-708, Problem 5-5

709-15

W 3/18 ASP Session – Trademarks  
Th 3/19
 PPT
Infringement

715-37, Problems 5-7

3/23 – 3/27

Spring Break

 

 
M 3/30
 PPT
Dilution 737-55; Haute Diggity Dog (CR)
Tu 3/31
 PPT

Extension by Contract

Domain Names and Cybersquatting

Indirect Infringement; False Advertising

755-58

759-77

777-87

W 4/1  ASP – Trademark Problems  
Th 4/2
 PPT

Defenses

Remedies

787-833, Problems 5-11, 5-12

838-51

 

State Law: Trade Secret, Contract, Misappropriation, Right of Publicity

   
M 4/6
 PPT

Trade Secret – Overview

Preemption

Trade Secret — Requirements

33-39

947-57

39-49, Problems 2-1, 2-2, 2-3

Tu 4/7
 PPT

Trade Secret — Requirements continued

Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

49-62, Problem 2-5

 

62-80, Problems  2-7, 2-8, 2-9, 2-11

W 4/8 ASP – Trade Secret  
Th 4/9
 PPT
Departing Employees

80-100; Problems 2-13, 2-14

M 4/13
 PPT
Remedies, Criminal Liability 100-115
Tu 4/14
 PPT

Introduction, Misappropriation

Clickwrap Agreements

853-866

866-873

W 4/15 ASP – Trade Secrets  
 Th 4/16
 PPT
Clickwrap Agreements (cont’d); Idea Submissions 873-894
M 4/20
 PPT
Idea Submissions (cont’d); Right of Publicity 894-917; Problems 6-1, 6-2
Tu 4/21
 PPT
Right of Publicity (cont’d);

918- 933; Problem 6-3

W 4/22 ASP – Trade Secret and State Law Problems  
Th 4/23
 PPT
Trespass to Chattels

933-47; Problem 6-4

M 4/27
 PPT
Preemption of State Law

952-956; 965-969; Problem 6-5

Tu 4/28
 PPT
IP and Anticompetitive Conduct

1127-1149

W 4/29

ASP Review Session

 
Th 4/30  Review  
 

Exam

 

Supplemental Materials
In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346 (Fed. Cir. 2007)
In re Comiskey, 499 F.3d 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2007)                                                     
Leapfrog Enterprises v. Fisher-Price, 485 F.3d 1157 (Fed. Cir. 2007)
In re Seagate, 597 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007)
National Academy of Sciences, A Patent System for the 21st Century (2004)
Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 448 F.3d 605 (2d Cir. 2006)
Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com, 487 F.3d 701 (9th Cir. 2007)
Louis Vuitton v. Haute Diggity Dog, 507 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2007)