November 21, 2010
SI 519/PubPol P688
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION LAW
Tentative Syllabus
This syllabus will change. I will adjust the reading burden and add supplementary materials in response to our class discussions. New assignments will appear and old ones may disappear. Please be sure to check each week's assigned reading before you read the assignment.
Textbook:
Lydia Pallas Loren & Joseph Scott Miller, IP LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS (Ver.2.1, 2010), available for purchase and immediate download from http://www.semaphorepress.com/
Assignments:
Wednesday, September 8: Introduction
- Watch Nina Paley & Norman Szabo's Minute Meme #1: Copying is not theft and Nina Paley's Minute Meme # 2: All Creative Work is Derivative. Paley created these two short videos for QuestionCopyright.org, to inspire skepticism towards conventional rhetoric advancing strong copyright laws.
- Whether or not you find Paley's memes convincing, please search the Internet to find comparably short videos that support strong intellectual property rights (patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any combination). Email me the URL of the single most persuasive short video that you find before 4 pm on Tuesday, September 7th.
- I will post a list of the URLs you send me here. Please watch at least five of the videos before class.
Wednesday, September 15: Misappropriation
Wednesday, September 22: Trade Secrets
Wednesday, September 29: Patents I
Friday, October 1:
Wednesday, October 6: Patents II
Wednesday, October 13: Copyright I
- IP Law, pages 311-350
- Optional: Watch Citizen 3.0 (2010) (127 minutes)
Wednesday, October 20: Copyright II
Friday October 22:
Wednesday, October 27: Copyright III
Wednesday, November 3: Copyright IV
Wednesday, November 10: Copyright V
Friday, November 12
Wednesday, November 17: Trademark I
Wednesday, November 24: Trademark II
Wednesday, December 1: Trademark III
Friday, December 3:
Wednesday, December 8: Rights of Privacy and Publicity
- IP Law, pages 687-95, 736-74
Thursday, December 16, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: (classroom TBD):
- Final Examination -- 2 1/2 hour, open-book, in-class exam
Course Learning objectives
- To give you a conceptual framework to appreciate the information policy implications and effects of intellectual property laws
- To familiarize you with the language and concepts that intellectual property lawyers use to understand and discuss issues and problems
- To provide a basic undertstanding of the similarities and differences among different intellectual property regimes
- To provide opportunities to examine how different intellectual property rules affect people who create, distribute, consume, or enjoy information, technology, or entertainment
Course policies
Attendance
SI and the Ford School (and the agencies that accredit them) require that you attend class sessions in order to receive credit for this course.
Grading
I will calculate your grades as follows:
- Class participation: 20 %
- Four very short papers assigned over the course of the semester: 40 %
- Final in-class examination: 40 %
Syllabus and materials
The current version of the syllabus and any assigned materials in addition to the Loren & Miller casebook will always be posted at http://www.umich.edu/~jdlitman/classes/SI519/. If you prefer, you can reach the webpage via the cTools site for this course.
Final Examination
There will be a two and one-half hour, in class, open book examination on from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday, December 16. If you have a hard conflict (another exam, mandatory surgery, criminal arraignment), please let me know immediately so I can can schedule a time for a makeup exam.
Disability Accommodations
If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know at your earliest convenience. Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way we teach may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress. As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate accommoda- tions. SSD (734-763-3000; http://www.umich.edu/ sswd/) typically recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. I will treat any information you provide as private and confidential.
Original work
Unless otherwise specified in an assignment, all submitted work must be your own, original work. Any excerpts from the work of others must be clearly identified as a quotation, and a proper citation provided. Any violation of the School’s policy on Academic and Professional Integrity (stated in the Master’s and Doctoral Student Handbooks) will result in severe penalties, which might range from failing an assignment, to failing a course, to being expelled from the program, at the discretion of the instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Office Hours
My office is at the law school, in room 337 Hutchins Hall. The phone number there is 615-0594. I keep regular office hours on Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. You are also welcome to make an appointment to come see me any weekday morning.
Ford School Writing Center Services
Ford School students who would like assistance with writing assignments should make an appointment with the at Ford School Writing Center.
Send me an email message: jdlitman -at- umich.edu