Intellectual Property & Technology Law
Intellectual Property and Technology Law concerns protections for intellectual creation, discovery, and invention.
There are many federal and state law protections for intellectual property, principally copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Copyright law provides protection for traditional creative works such as novels, motion pictures, and musical works, as well as protection for modern technological works including computer programs. Trademark law protects brand names and the trade "dress" and packaging of products or services. Patent law protects inventions which meet the required standard of non-obviousness and novelty. There are also related areas of protection for confidential proprietary knowledge and the right of publicity.
Intellectual Property law has become increasingly important as the size of the industries dependent on protection increase. The demand for lawyers with expertise in the area continues to grow. Students with an interest in this area should begin with the introductory survey course in Intellectual Property, which covers the basic principles and developments in each area. After becoming familiar with the basic framework, students may then choose from among our four basic courses: Copyright Law, Cyberspace Law, Trademark Law, and Patent Law. Thereafter there are numerous specialized courses in Intellectual Property theory and practice.
Students who have a technical or scientific background may be particularly interested in Patent Law. However, a scientific or technical background is not required for most types of Intellectual Property practice.