TEXTS
Plato,
The Republic, Books I and V.
Aristotle, The Politics, Book 1, Ch. 1 through Book
2, Ch. 5.
Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II,
Questions 62 through 66.
Thomas
Hobbes, Leviathan: Of Man, Of
Commonwealth (selected excerpts).
Locke,
Second Treatise of Government,
Chapters 1-5 and 9.
U.S.
Constitution; selected U.S. Supreme Court landmark decisions on patent,
copyright, trademark, and trade secret rights; U.K. House of Lords and European
Union judicial opinions.
Selected
“Open Source” Computer Software Licenses.
July 2018
2: Course
Introduction. How to read texts of
philosophy and law. Questions to ask Plato,
Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes and Locke this summer. Dissecting Book I of Plato’s Republic.
First Assignment: Read Book I of Plato’s Republic carefully in preparation for the first class
session.
3: Republic, Book V on Property.
4:
NO CLASS – BUT READ THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AS PART OF YOUR CELEBRATION
5: Politics, Book 1.
6: Politics, Book 2, Chapters 1-7; Book 7,
Chapters 9-10.
9: Summa, Questions 63-65; 66 and 62; Leviathan: Of Man (excerpts).
10:
Leviathan, Of Commonwealth (excerpts).
11:
Second Treatise on Government,
Chapters 1-5.
12:
Second Treatise, Chapter 9; U.S.
Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property Rights.
16:
Midterm Examination: Four essay questions, one hour.
In the second hour: Making sense of judicial opinions; Trade
Secrets v. Patents; Trademarks v. Copyrights.
17:
Evening Library Session:
Introduction to Online Legal Research, followed by dinner together at a local
pizzeria. This session is optional but
very useful for legal research.
18:
Trade secrets in depth: Uniform Trade
Secrets Act; common law and statutory protection; criminal statutes; industrial
espionage. Special problems in
protecting against industrial espionage; international enforcement issues.
19:
How to read a patent. What’s in a
patent? What’s a patent troll? Analysis of selected landmark patent cases.
23:
The European Patent. International Treaties
on Patent Protection.
24:
Trademarks: The U.S. Lanham Act. Review and discuss landmark trademark
cases. European trademark protection;
the Madrid Treaty.
25:
Copyright issues for particular works: literary
works, sound recordings, visual images, motion pictures, software,
architectural works, websites, databases.
26:
Copyrights: Discuss landmark copyright cases; the Berne Convention.
30:
Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property: Identity in the Internet Age, Open Source Software,
Fair Use, Mixing, and Academic Freedom.
31:
What’s Wrong with IP Law Today? Policy
issues and grappling with future technologies.
August 2018
1: How
to prepare for appellate oral argument; breakout practice sessions.
2: Moot Supreme Court Oral Argument: ”Is Life Patentable?” Celebratory pizza at Dar Poeta (the best pizza place in Trastevere).
3: Comprehensive
course review for final examination.
4: Final Examination: Six essay questions (two hours).