Background Intellectual property rights don’t arise or exist in a vacuum, and lawyers in practice rarely encounter them in their "pure" form. Intellectual property rights are developed, managed, and disposed of in the context of commercial law, including the Uniform Commercial Code, the Bankruptcy Act, and federal and state antitrust law, among other things. This course introduces students to the relationship between federal intellectual property rights and state and federal laws that regulate the business environment that surrounds those rights. The course traces the development, management and disposition of intellectual property assets, with an emphasis on the dynamics of that relationship in the context of “e-commerce” firms and technologies.
Prerequisites Every student enrolled in the course must have previously completed at least one course in intellectual property law and/or at least one course in commercial law, unfair competition law, or bankruptcy law. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
Class meeting information The class will meet from 9 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, in Room 113. Attendance at every class meeting is required. If you plan to miss a class meeting, you must email me at least 24 hours in advance of that class and describe the reason for your absence.
Office hours My office is located in Room 303. My office hours are on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. I can also be reached via e-mail at madison@law.pitt.edu and by telephone at (412) 648-7855. I would be happy to meet at other times, either by appointment or (if I am in the office) on a drop-in basis.
Course materials All of the required readings for the class will be available via the TWEN service on Westlaw. You may read the materials on-line, save them from Westlaw to your own computer or to a disk, and/or print them out for later use. You are not required to access the readings via the links that I have provided; so long as you read the material, you are free to obtain them in any (lawful) way you like. A complete list of readings is posted on the World Wide Web and can be viewed at http://www.law.pitt.edu/madison/ecommerce/readings_2002.htm.
TWEN instructions You will need your WESTLAW password to access the readings for the course. Logon to WESTLAW using the WESTLAW software or through http://www.lawschool.westlaw.com. Find and click on the "TWEN" link. You should then be given the opportunity to "Drop/Add" a course on TWEN. Click on this link. Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce should be presented to you as one option. Click on the empty box next to the Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce title, placing a check mark in that box, then click "Submit." You are now enrolled as a participant in the TWEN version of the course. To access readings for the course, logon to WESTLAW, click on TWEN, and click on Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce. On the left side of the Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce homepage, there is a list of links that includes "Syllabus" (which repeats the Syllabus page from this site), "FAQ" (which repeats most of the FAQ from this page), and "Readings." The "Readings" link will take you to the list of live links to the assigned readings.
Course requirements The grade for this seminar will be based on three short (3-5 pp.) open research memos. The first two memos will each be worth 30% of the final grade. The final memo will be worth 40% of the final grade. The substance and format of the memos, the timing of their being assigned, and their due dates will be discussed in class as the semester progresses. The memos are related to the interdisciplinary approach of the course. The readings for the course are designed to introduce students to the content of intellectual property law as it is often practiced. The graded assignments are likewise designed to require students to work with intellectual property law as lawyers actually do.
A brief overview of the memos is available at http://www.law.pitt.edu/madison/ecommerce/memos_2002.htm.
Email list Shortly after the semester begins, I will collect email addresses from all students, so that I can efficiently distribute occasional administrative announcements and follow-up comments regarding the content of the course. The text of the substantive announcements will be posted to the course website.
First class assignment Assignment for first class meeting, Tuesday, January 8: Please review the Syllabus and course FAQ posted at the course website. The Readings for the course are available exclusively on-line through the Westlaw TWEN system. Therefore, you will need your Westlaw password to participate in the class. Before the first class meeting, go to the Westlaw site or log on to the Westlaw system using Westmate software, and follow the instructions provided in this FAQ for this course regarding TWEN.
For the first class meeting, please read and be prepared to discuss the material identified as “Background” (DeLong and Froomkin) in the first unit of readings for the course. The second and third class meetings will involve discussion of the Sun Microsystems v. Microsoft litigation, as reflected in the balance of the readings for the first unit.
Last edited: February 15, 2002