Spring 2014 Course Schedule

IP in Cyberspace (LAW-667A-001)
Carroll

Meets: 04:30 PM - 05:50 PM (MW) - Room 524

Enrolled: 53 / Limit: 60

Administrator Access


Notices

It is very important that you purchase the 2012 Supplement for this book. The book was published in 2006. Consider purchasing a used copy of this casebook because we will be using only about 525 pages of this 1300-page book. Otherwise we will use the Supplement and other materials I will be posting on MyWCL.

Description

This course investigates the legal regulation of conduct through the Internet, with particular attention to issues arising under copyright and trademark law. The focus of the course is to study how the fundamental principles of intellectual property law apply to the facts of the Internet. How and when does the law rely on analogy to established precedent and when does the law create Internet-specific regulation by statute or judicial interpretation? The trademark unit focuses on Internet-specific issues, such as use of marks in domain names and by search engines. This includes study of ICANN as a sui generis global regulatory body. The copyright unit considers issues such as secondary liability and the regulation of Internet service providers, whether technology can or should substitute for law through digital rights management, and the role of “user generated content” and open or public licensing of copyrighted works on the Internet. Comparative materials are used to illustrate similarities and differences in legal responses, primarily between the U.S. and EU. Assessment is by a centrally-scheduled, open book final examination.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

1. Internet Commerce: The Emerging Legal Framework (2d ed. 2006) by Radin, Rothchild, Reese, and Silverman *AND* the 2012 Supplement.

First Class Readings

Pages 1257-59, and Chapter 3 from Lessig, Future of Ideas on MyWCL (full book can be downloaded for free at http://www.the-future-of-ideas.com/download)