The courses in this section are offered through the Law School’s summer program in intellectual property law held in Munich, Germany. In addition to the courses listed below, the Munich program curriculum offers credit versions of other courses listed in the bulletin such as Law 6369, Computer Law, Law 6477, The Federal Circuit, and Law 6496, Intellectual Property Law Seminar.
6840 Cross-Border Trade in Intellectual Property (1)
Issues raised by international trade in goods protected by copyright, patent, or trademark law, and the response of the United States, the European Union, and other legal systems to those issues. Exploration of various doctrines that regulate the importation of goods protected by intellectual property rights, such as those forbidding parallel importation and those dealing with the first-sale doctrine and exhaustion of intellectual property rights. The economic and social policy considerations underlying these doctrines. (Examination)
6841 International Patent Law (1)
Introduction to the techniques of international patent regulation and consideration of the effects and desirability of such regulation. International agreements concerning patents, including the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the European Patent Convention, and the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) Agreement. GW degree candidates may not receive credit for both Law 6841 and 6490. (Examination)
6842 Internet Law I (1)
Focus on speech on the Internet, including governmental attempts to control or filter speech, intermediary liability for third-party speech, digital rights management and other copyright issues, and domain names as speech. The rules and institutions that permit or disallow governance of these issues. GW degree candidates may not receive credit for both Law 6842 and 6485. (Examination)
6845 Technical Protection of Authors’ Rights (1)
Technologies used to protect authors’ rights (such as encryption, flags, degradation schemes, and watermarking) and the law that protects and regulates them, including the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the European Copyright Directive, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty. Consideration of the impact of these technologies. (Examination)
6846 Philosophical Foundations of Intellectual Property (1)
Selected themes in the history and theory of intellectual property, including philosophical rationales for intellectual property rights, the debate over the limits to intellectual property protection from the 18th through the 20th centuries, and historical accounts of the intellectual property system. (Writing assignment)
6847 Intellectual Property and Indigenous Heritage (1)
Conflicts of customary law claims of indigenous peoples with industries operating under Western intellectual property systems over the use of natural resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore. National and regional legislation and efforts to develop international norms and standards. (Examination)
6848 Technology Licensing in the European Community (1)
Legal issues arising from technology licensing in the European Community, including antitrust considerations in the framework of Art. 81 of the EC Treaty and the legal means of securing and enforcing technology license contracts. The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 and the secured transactions laws of England and Germany. (Examination)
6849 Trademarks and Geographical Indications (1)
Regulation of terms that indicate or once indicated the geographic origin of goods or services (e.g., champagne, California Pizza Kitchen). Comparative study of U.S. and European Community approaches; the impact of international treaties, including the U.S.–EC dispute before the World Trade Organization; implications for affected industries; and broader cultural implications. (Examination)
6850 Law of Software Contracts (1)
Contract and copyright issues arising out of software contracts. Contractual attempts to authorize or restrict copying and use of software; the proper legal characterization of software and software contracts; copyright limitations on contractual terms; formation of software contracts and potential remedies for their breach. (Examination)
6581 Copyright and the Changing Role of the Copy (1)
Consideration of the changing role of the copy in copyright law and in cultural dissemination, using materials drawn from law, cultural history, sociology, and art theory. Articulation of features of traditional dissemination through discrete copies and the alteration of those features through digital network distribution and typical rights management permission bundles. The effect of audio and video recording and computer technologies on our understanding of the copy and proposals for reform of the statutory exclusive rights. (Examination)