[Law25] Intellectual Property Law Courses

[Osborn, Lucas S.]

Hello all! I’m Professor Osborn, the Director of Campbell Law’s Intellectual Property Program. As you think about courses next year, I wanted to make sure each 1L (and 2L!) knows about opportunities to take IP-related courses, and to answer common questions.

What is IP?
IP encompasses at least patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and design rights.

Should I take IP?
Anyone should take the course if you want to work with

-        technology,

-        Entrepreneurs,

-        artists,

-        advertising/branding,

-        inventors,

-        Name-Image-Likeness,

-        entertainment law,

-        and the like.

In addition, anyone interested in business law or general civil litigation should strongly consider taking it.

When should I take IP?
Note that we offer the Intro to IP course IN THE FALL each year. For people with only a secondary interest in IP, taking only the IP course is probably sufficient. You could take it in your 2L or 3L year.
For those with a stronger interest in IP, you should strongly consider taking the Intro to IP course in the fall of your 2L year, because it often serves as a prerequisite for some more focused IP courses (and even if not a prereq, it is great foundational knowledge for upper level IP courses).

What other courses in IP can I take?
We generally offer specific, in-depth courses on (1) Copyrights, (2) Trademarks, (3) Patents, and (4) Patent Drafting. We also sometimes offer other courses like Entertainment Law, IP Licensing, or Data Privacy (sometimes considered under the IP umbrella). Note also that IP can be helpful in the business law (entrepreneurship) and sports law clinics.

Don’t you have to be a scientist or engineer to do IP law?
NO! That is a common misconception. The science/engineer requirement only affects patent law (and even then only partially). If you have an interest in trademarks, trade secrets, or copyrights, you need no science or engineering background.

On the other hand, if you want to practice patent law, there is only one aspect where you truly *need* a science or engineering degree: if you want to draft patents on behalf of other people. But you don’t need any particular background to litigate patents or to work in patent licensing. (Now, it is also true that employers will strongly favor those with science/engineering backgrounds when hiring for a “patent litigation” position. On the other hand, if you are going to be a more general litigator who sometimes litigates patents, you can do that regardless of your educational degree(s).

I hope that helps answer some preliminary questions. I’m always happy to chat about IP law, so please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Best regards,
LSO

Lucas S. Osborn
Professor of Law
Campbell Law School
225 Hillsborough Street, Suite 432
Raleigh, NC 27603

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My research is available on SSRN:  http://ssrn.com/author=1294324
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