Spring Term 2012
9200-705-801
9200-805-801
Mr. Kahrl
This summary of the course provides information for students who are thinking of rounding out their schedule for the Spring 2012 term. We will be teaching the skill of drafting intellectual property licenses, including licenses for patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights. In addition, various laws and economic factors governing the formulation of licensing terms will be considered, such as the business considerations in licensing, the antitrust laws applicable to licensing arrangements, contract law, tax law, bankruptcy provisions, valuation of intellectual property, and licensing litigation. This course was designed by Prof. Jay Dratler and will be taught as envisioned by him with a few modifications to fit the expertise of the instructor.
The textbook for the course will be K.L. Port, Jay Dratler, Jr., et al., Licensing Intellectual Property in the Information Age, 2nd ed. (Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC 2005), ISBN 0-89089-890-1. Please do not attempt to use the first edition of this book; it is entirely different. The university bookstore is stocking this book.
The course will work through the textbook at a pace of about one chapter per week. Additional material will be available on the web, or through the course’s Springboard page. The course will be governed by the syllabus, which will be posted shortly. Uniquely, the course presents a series of drafting exercises to be completed by each student during the course of the term. The current plan calls for six exercises spaced about two weeks apart, with the two longer exercises being allowed more time. The exercises will be discussed in class both before the students attempt the exercise and after the exercise has been completed. The grading of the course will be partially determined each student’s participation in discussion of the weekly readings, and partially determined by each student’s performance in the drafting exercises. There will be no quizzes or examinations.
Prof. Dratler had taught this course in a format meeting twice a week. The present instructor will present the course in a weekly three-hour session. Students must prepare for this course recognizing that preparation will be required in the same amount as for two 90-minute classes. The objective is for each student to be able to prepare a polished draft license agreement with all important clauses included and with all necessary legal and economic considerations covered.