Intellectual property is an area of law that has deep attachments to our beliefs about human potential—particularly, what kinds of creativity and innovation merit property rights and how those rights should be distributed within society. In recent decades, IP has emerged as a key space in which negotiations over social, political, and economic power take place. Studying the operation of intellectual property law in its social context reveals how power flows within society. It can show us, for example, how the law values particular bodies and their intellectual contributions as creative, inventive, distinctive, or secret, while for others it may not. In this course we will examine cases, legislative histories, and fresh research from several areas of intellectual property law—copyright, patent, trademark, and privacy law—to understand how these modes of owning and circulating creativity and innovation are influenced by, and in turn influence, social constructions of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and political identity. Viewing IP in this way allows us to see it as a critical site of engagement during historical moments of social transformation, but also as a site of productive possibility for remediating injustices and inequalities going forward.

Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 2
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Graduation Writing Requirement: Yes, With Instructor's Approval*
Flexible/Upper-Level Writing Requirement: Yes, With Instructor's Approval*
Skills Requirement: No
Simulation Course: No
Note: Only one of the above listed requirements can be fulfilled with this course.
Experiential Learning: No
Seminar: Yes
Special Withdrawal Course: No
Final Exam Given: No
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies
Teaching Method: In Person

* The law school has a policy that is used to calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.