Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors Tridico and Feldstein

J.D. Seminar 385 | 2 credit hours

This course is designed to address substantive and tactical topics related to global intellectual property management, including due diligence investigations, IP valuation, invention harvesting, and global filing strategies. The course is further designed to provide practice and experience counseling in an intellectual property practice. In a series of in class exercise and written assignments, students in teams will act as outside counsel to provide IP management analysis and guidance to a corporate client, including addressing the potential acquisition or licensing of a third party’s IP portfolio. Topics to be addressed include: general IP portfolio management, IP audits and due diligence investigations, valuation of IP assets, IP corporate perspective, external IP collaborations, invention harvesting, weighing of patent versus trade secret protection, global filing strategies, freedom to operate analyses, litigation issues and IP portfolios, and negotiating IP acquisitions. In house corporate counsel and valuation expert guest speakers are anticipated. Assignments will include a final paper and presentation on a valuation and risk assessment analysis addressing the pros and cons of pursuing the acquisition, as well as several short drafting exercises. The course grade will be based primarily on the written assignments, presentation, and in class exercises and participation.

Prerequisite: Patent Law, Copyright Law, or Trademark Law. Recommended: an upper level seminar in the Intellectual Property area.