Categories: Business, Corporate, Commercial Law

Instructor(s)

Ghosh, Shubha

Course Data

Room 5223
MW 9:50am-11:50am

Pass/Fail: Yes

Course Description

Transactional Intellectual Property (3 credits) Spring 2014

Book: Gruner, Ghosh & Kesan, Intellectual Property in Business Organizations: Cases and Materials (Lexis-Nexis 2012)(looseleaf edition). Plus occasional supplementary articles and materials.

The seminar examines intellectual property as copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret issues in various business contexts. Class meetings will focus on topical issues and pending cases and transactions dealing with licensing of intellectual property, antitrust, transactional lawyering, intellectual property commercialization, or other current legal issues at the intersection of intellectual property and business law. Structured as a practicuum, the instructor expects each student to prepare one written project (35 pages in length) that entails picking an entity and rigorously presenting (1) identification of intellectual property assets owned by the entity, (2) analysis of licensing terms as they apply to employment and related issues, and (3) analysis of business law issues pertinent to the chosen entity such as antitrust or financing questions. Periodic review of drafts is expected for successful completion of the course. The seminar serves as a capstone course for business students interested in intellectual property and intellectual property students interested in business law and policy. The goal is to allow students to see intellectual property in practice and to synthesize intellectual property and business policy. Recommended courses: Introduction to Intellectual Property or Copyright or Patent and Business Organization I.

Syllabus:
This course is a seminar and practicum exploring the transactional dimension of intellectual property. A good working knowledge of intellectual property and business organizations is presumed. The topics presented will build on subject matter from these previous courses. The course is schedule MW 955 to 1155 and will meet mostly on Mondays with Wednesdays reserved for make-up classes. Each class will focus on a distinct topic illustrating different issues relating to transactions involving intellectual property. The course is 3-credits with 2-credits for classroom meetings and 1-credit for writing a substantive research paper. However, you must sign up for the full 3-credits. The final grade will be based on the substantive research paper. The research paper entails choosing a business entity and writing an extensive analysis of the entity’s intellectual property portfolio and business practices. The final paper, due via email on the last day of finals, should consist of the following three parts: (1) analytic description of the entity’s intellectual property portfolio (10-15 pages); (2) analytical discussion of the business practices and strategies tied to the intellectual property (10-15 pages); and (3) a draft licensing agreement for some of the intellectual property identified in (1) (10-15 pages). The final paper should be double spaced with about one-half inch left, right, top, and bottom. A separate memo shall be provided describing how the final paper project will be assessed.

Readings will be distributed before the class meetings and on the course moodle page at least a week before the class meeting. If there are any questions, I can be reached via email at ghosh7@wisc.edu. Class meetings and topics are presented below.

Jan 27: Intellectual Property Portfolio—Disseminating Intellectual Property
Jan 29: Intellectual Property Portfolio--Searches and Analysis
Feb 3: Licensing
Feb 10: Licensing and Contract Law
Feb 17: Licensing in Bankruptcy
Feb 24: Employment Issues
Mar 3: Antitrust
Mar 5: Antitrust and FRAND
Mar 10: Business Entities
Mar 31: Nonprofit Organizations and Licensing
Apr 9: Secured Credit and IP Law Issues
Apr 14: Advanced Employment Law Issues
Apr 21: Mergers and Acquisitions
Apr 28: Commercializing IP

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