[Law26] Intellectual Property Law information

[Osborn, Lucas S.]

Hello all!
I'm Professor Osborn, the Director of Campbell Law's Intellectual Property Program. I wanted to make sure students know about opportunities to take IP-related courses, and to answer common questions.
(I'll also take this opportunity to highlight that the first meeting of IPLS will be on Thursday, Feb 15 at noon in Room 307. I hope to see you there!)

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 often 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) clinic.

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 do not need 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 (see here: see pgs 3-5 here: https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/OED_GRB.pdf). 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

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

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