Design Law

This course takes a cross-sectional approach to the legal protection available for design, focusing primarily on industrial design. The course differs from traditional intellectual property courses in that it approaches the legal system from a subject matter perspective rather than a particular doctrinal perspective. That is, rather than focusing on trademark law (or patent or copyright) and then asking how the doctrinal rules apply to various works or features, this course starts with the type of work or feature at issue—say, the design of conveyor belt guard rails—and asks what legal protection(s) might be available for the design, looking across doctrinal areas.  This approach is more reflective of the way intellectual property attorneys work; it also means that the course will, by necessity, cover a lot of doctrinal ground.Prerequisite: Law 306. Patent Law OR Law 307. Intellectual Property