Module and Course List

Introduction to the structure, historical development, and legal thought of civil law and common law systems; constitutional aspects of the legal system in the U.S., including federal and state legislation and jurisdiction.

The course will provide an introduction to and overview of the different legal protective system for intellectual property rights, outlining the main characteristics and differences.

The "Economic Analysis of Law" has become an important intellectual tool in many fields of law, among them Intellectual Property Law. This course is intended to familiarize students with some basic concepts and vocabulary of microeconomics; special emphasis will be put on the different cost curves and the economic analysis of monopoly. Both are very relevant for intellectual property rights. The participation in this course should enable students to get more out of subsequent courses that employ a "Law & Economics" approach.

The course will provide an introduction to competition law, outlining the basic ideas, main legal instruments and possible interfaces with IP law.

The present state and future prospects of the European Patent system, including patentable subject matter, patentability requirements, and scope of protection under the European Patent Convention; patent prosecution before the European Patent Office; litigation of European patents, including jurisdictional questions; and an introduction to the proposed Community Patent Regulation and other proposed legislation in the patent field.

Study of the American patent system, highlighting its provisions on patentability requirements, scope of protection and remedies for patent infringement

The theoretical foundation and historical development of copyright in selected EU countries (France/ Germany/ UK) and differences resulting therefrom (author's right vs. copyright systems, monism and dualism); prerequisites and scope of copyright protection and protection for neighboring rights according to German copyright law, with a comparative view to other EU countries; harmonization of copyright in the EU, including an overview on the existing directives, the state of implementation of the most recent directives, further harmonization projects, and ECJ case law in the field of copyright.

This course covers the basic features and selected topics of US copyright law: requirements for copyright protection; fundamental exceptions to copyright protections; substantial similarity and infringement analysis; fair use; initial ownership of copyright; an introduction to rules on transactions; the reproduction, distribution and derivative work rights; public performance and display rights; enforcement and protection strategies.

Training in the general skills required in scholarship and the conduct of research, with special emphasis on the differences in legal argumentation between common and civil law systems. Topics include: presentation of written work; citation and referencing; conducting a literature search; essay writing; examination writing; doing a dissertation/research project; preparing seminar/conference papers; and preparing work for publication.

This course provides an overview of the acquisition, scope of protection and enforcement of rights in EU trademark law. It offers a detailed analysis of the Community Trade Mark system, harmonized national law in EU Member States, CJEU jurisprudence and OHIM practice.

This course covers the basic topics of US trademark law: purpose and nature of trademark rights under U.S. law; distinctiveness of word marks; protection of non-word marks; the concept of use and registration proceedings; acts amounting to infringement; actionable confusion; dilution and defenses.

Protection requirements, scope of protection, and enforcement of design rights on the basis of harmonized national law in EU Member States; the Community design system, including the unregistered Community design; comparison of EU law with important divergent features in U.S. and Japanese design law; international design law, including the Hague system for international deposit of industrial designs, and provisions of relevance for design protection in TRIPS.

Concept of unfair competition and relation to IP; basic features of selected European unfair competition regimes; EU directives concerning unfair competition, especially misleading and aggressive business practices; ECJ jurisprudence.

A comparative analysis of the theoretical basis, policy aims, mechanisms and practice of European and U.S. competition (antitrust) law, in particular with regard to the cases decided. The survey includes merger control as well as the relevant practice of competition authorities and courts under European and U.S. law.

In this course, students will have an opportunity to examine the provisions on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) contained in international agreements and the institutions that administer them. The course will cover international IP law in four aspects: 1) its history, rationale and traditional institutional setting; 2) the incorporation of IP into the World Trade Organization (WTO), including treaty interpretation, dispute settlement and compliance in WTO law; 3) the main principles and substantive rules on the protection of patents, trademarks and copyright as well as those on the enforcement of IP rights; and 4) emerging issues such as the IP provisions in Free Trade- and Investment Agreements, the WIPO Development Agenda and the protection of Traditional Knowledge.

The legal structure of the EU and the EEA, including the legal constitution and tasks of main EU institutions; impact of principles set out in the TEU and TFEU (such as the subsidiary principle, non discrimination and the "four freedoms," in particular free movement of goods and services); instruments for harmonization and their legal foundation in the European Treaties

Principles applied to determine the competence of courts and the applicable law under EU and U.S. law, with a focus on IP conflicts; problems arising in the EU under the Brussels Regulation; the specific relevance of jurisdiction matters and conflict of laws in the digital environment; and harmonization prospects.

The seminar deals with the interface of intellectual property, including patents, copyright and trade secrets, and competition law. It addresses the application of competition laws to IP by referring to cases mostly from U.S. and EU courts, but also from some other jurisdictions. A particular focus will be put on licensing practices, refusal to deal, standardization issues and abusive use of procedures before patent offices and courts. The objective of the seminar is also to provide a better understanding of the impact of IP regimes on competition and, hence, of the competition-dimension of IP rights. Students will be requested to write a short paper on a specific topic and to present the topic in class by using PowerPoint. The grades will be given for the overall performance based on the quality of the paper, the oral presentation of the topic and class participation. The topics will be allocated to the students at the end of the first semester. The papers have to be handed in by the beginning of the second semester. The student presentations will be spread during the whole of the second semester.

This course explores the application of European, U.S. and international patent law to practical cases. Example of topics covered are: patent litigation strategies (forum shopping, warning letters and "torpedo" claims); drafting a patent application and replying to substantive communications from the USPTO and from EPO; enforcement in the U.S. (including the appellate process at the Federal Circuit) and in Europe.

The course will address public policy and practice considerations relating to the patenting of biotechnological inventions with in-depth treatment of a unique practice area. The main focus of the course will be the European and the US statutory law and practice, including special aspects of plant variety protection, as they are embedded in the TRIPS Agreement and the UPOV Convention.

The course will review specific issues relating to both the patent and non-patent protection of pharmaceuticals under U.S. and European law. The instructors will review the U.S. Hatch-Waxman Act and its foreign analogues, including such topics as the Orange Book, specialized patent litigation proceedings, the experimental use privilege, and the role of international agreements (including both the TRIPS Agreement and Free Trade Agreements). The course will also cover patent term extensions (or Supplementary Protection Certificates in the case of the EU), regulatory data protection and market exclusivity rules, and the relationship between patent and non-patent protection and its use in Life Cycle Management strategies. Coverage will incorporate recent issues of particular concern, including authorized generics, homeland security, and antitrust/competition matters as they pertain to pharmaceuticals.

The course presents the main issues related to copyright licensing, highlighting the impacts of the development of digitization and internet on the traditional schemes and framework. The course considers the individual management of copyright (the wide spread buy-out balanced by the legal protection of the creator, and the issues raised by the development of creative commons licenses) and the collective management of copyrights (with a focus on its traditional scheme in Continental Europe and the turmoil following the reactions of the European Commission to the adaptation of CMOs to internet).

The course is structured in two parts. The first part (Traphagen) is aimed at providing an overview of the enforcement of copyright, addressing general issues and highlighting the most pressing problems, especially in the context of international enforcement. The second part (Strowel) focuses on the enforcement of copyright under Community Law (e.g. the 2004 Enforcement Directive and 2003 Customs Regulation) and addresses special issues such as the delicate relationship between data protection and online copyright enforcement, as well as software piracy.

A quarter of a century ago, computer programs were the first digital and purely functional object to be integrated into copyright which up until then was merely concerned with works of literature and the arts. The course highlights the driving technical and economic forces behind this legal development. Following, the legal issues related to copyright and computer programs will be discussed on the basis of EU-Directive 2009/24/EC (initially published as Directive 91/250/EEC). A particular focus is on the case law handed down by the CJEU, in particular the "UsedSoft"-decision which addresses fundamental problems of goods and services in the digital networked environment as seen from the perspective of the freedom of movement of goods and services. Finally, as regards licensing, the conceptual difference between classical proprietary licensing schemes on the one hand, and open source licensing on the other hand will be discussed.

Particular problems related to the rights of performing artists and producers in the entertainment industry, including a comparison between the situation in the U.S. and the EU, inter alia with respect to the relative strength of the parties involved, as reflected e.g. in collective agreements and the role of trade unions, branch organizations etc.; problems of international contractual law in the entertainment industry; protection of merchandising property.

This course considers particularities of Japanese Patent Law, South Korean Patent Law, and Indian Patent Law. The jurisdictions dealt with per semester vary on a rotating basis.

Determining what activity should be eligible for patent protection has been a major source of controversy for the past three decades, particularly as new technologies such as software and biotechnology gain economic importance. This course will consider how such problems have been addressed on each side of the Atlantic. We will consider how patent eligibility has been addressed under U.S. law, EU law, the European Patent Convention, and selected national laws. We will also discuss some of the larger economic, institutional, and social policy considerations underlying different approaches.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

This course explores the application of European, U.S. and international patent law to practical cases. Example of topics covered are: patent litigation strategies (forum shopping, warning letters and "torpedo" claims); drafting a patent application and replying to substantive communications from the USPTO and from EPO; enforcement in the U.S. (including the appellate process at the Federal Circuit) and in Europe.

The course covers all legal, economical and political aspects of patenting of software related inventions. It starts with an analysis what a software patent is. We then discuss the patentability of software related inventions in Europe, as compared to the patentability of software related inventions in the USA. Furthermore, the course focusses on practical issues such as how to claim software technology and enforcement of software patents. We touch the very controversial topic of the relationship between software patents and industry standard. Last but not least, the course analyses the economic and political background of the controversy related to software patents.

The course will address public policy and practice considerations relating to the patenting of biotechnological inventions with in-depth treatment of a unique practice area. The main focus of the course will be the European and the US statutory law and practice, including special aspects of plant variety protection, as they are embedded in the TRIPS Agreement and the UPOV Convention.

The course will review specific issues relating to both the patent and non-patent protection of pharmaceuticals under U.S. and European law. The instructors will review the U.S. Hatch-Waxman Act and its foreign analogues, including such topics as the Orange Book, specialized patent litigation proceedings, the experimental use privilege, and the role of international agreements (including both the TRIPS Agreement and Free Trade Agreements). The course will also cover patent term extensions (or Supplementary Protection Certificates in the case of the EU), regulatory data protection and market exclusivity rules, and the relationship between patent and non-patent protection and its use in Life Cycle Management strategies. Coverage will incorporate recent issues of particular concern, including authorized generics, homeland security, and antitrust/competition matters as they pertain to pharmaceuticals.

This course allows students to examine and understand the increasingly relevant interplays between IP and other legal regimes in international law. It deals with the following four pertinent aspects: 1) The substantive law intersections between IP and other areas of international law; 2) the protection of IP via FTAs, investment regimes and human rights treaties; 3) the concepts in international customary and treaty law which address norm hierarchy and conflict; and 4) the international institutions whose work involves looking at IP from different perspectives. The main learning objective is to raise awareness of the multitude of diverse and specialized regimes relevant for international IP protection and encourage critical analysis of its role in the wider international law framework.

International trade in goods protected by copyright, patent or trademark law has become a matter of enormous economic significance. This course will focus on the issue of whether and when owners of intellectual property rights can continue to control the distribution of goods that embody copyrighted works, inventions, or trademarks, and conversely, of whether and when those rights are "exhausted." Particular attention will be given to the geographic scope of exhaustion, which gives rise to issues of "parallel importation" and "grey goods," and the economic and social policy considerations underlying exhaustion policies. The course will cover all three major categories of intellectual property and review the response of the U.S., the E.U., and other legal systems. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This courtroom simulation course aims to give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a practical case in patent and competition law by putting them in the shoes of a trial lawyer. The practical case deals with one of the most exciting and challenging problems in IP law, namely the enforcement of a patent being "essential" for the application of an industry standard. This involves the interaction between patent and competition law, the problem of "patent ambushing", the relevance of IPR policies, and the problem of proving infringement of an (allegedly) standard-essential patent. All participants meet on the first day to form the teams of lawyers and to receive a basic introduction into the subject matter of the case including a Q&A session. In addition to the syllabus, each party receives further documents which may or may not be relevant for the case. Between the first and the second day the parties exchange "skeleton briefs" summarizing possible new facts (and respective evidence) and party´s legal arguments. The parties are invited to adjust their oral arguments in the light of the facts and legal arguments outlined in the skeleton brief provided by the other side. Parties may exchange amended "skeleton briefs" on a voluntary basis. In the oral hearing on the second day of class, party A has 10 minutes to make their opening statement, followed by 10 minutes of rebuttal time for party B. After that, party A has 5 minutes for their concluding remarks, followed by 5 minutes for party B. After all teams finished their pleadings, feedback will be given on the presented arguments. The two most persuasive teams will receive a prize.

This course will examine the roles of courts that have been established to decide intellectual property disputes, and patent law disputes in particular. It will focus in particular in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but will also compare that court and its patent jurisprudence with specialized courts in Europe and Asia. The course will consider the advantages and disadvantages of courts that are limited in subject matter jurisdiction. (Examination)

Numerous and diverse as they are, trade secrets share one common feature – they all cover information which is actively kept from becoming generally accessible. The course will clarify the nature of trade secret rights as compared to intellectual property rights and will provide a comparative analysis of trade secret protection in both continental and common law systems. The course will address statutory as well as a (pre-)contractual trade secret protection, including but not limited to employer-employee or licensor-licensee relationship. In addition, the role of trade secrets in R&D co-operations and the impact which trade secrets may have on technology transfer will be discussed. (Examination)

In recent years, tensions have increased between indigenous peoples and western industries about the use of genetic resources belonging to their land, their traditional knowledge and folklore. Under intellectual property systems, these achievements are regularly not protected, but indigenous peoples consider them under their own (customary) laws as belonging to them. Since industries often make benefits from using genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore either as such or as a basis for further (patentable) inventions and derived works protected by copyright, indigenous peoples have claimed that protection be established so as to be able to control the use of these achievements, to share in the benefits, to be able to prevent offensive or other uses damaging their spiritual interests, and to have their origin acknowledged. This course will consider these issues in the framework both of examples of national and regional legislation and of efforts to develop international norms and standards, in particular in WIPO. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

The course presents the main issues related to copyright licensing, highlighting the impacts of the development of digitization and internet on the traditional schemes and framework. The course considers the individual management of copyright (the wide spread buy-out balanced by the legal protection of the creator, and the issues raised by the development of creative commons licenses) and the collective management of copyrights (with a focus on its traditional scheme in Continental Europe and the turmoil following the reactions of the European Commission to the adaptation of CMOs to internet).

The course is structured in two parts. The first part (Traphagen) is aimed at providing an overview of the enforcement of copyright, addressing general issues and highlighting the most pressing problems, especially in the context of international enforcement. The second part (Strowel) focuses on the enforcement of copyright under Community Law (e.g. the 2004 Enforcement Directive and 2003 Customs Regulation) and addresses special issues such as the delicate relationship between data protection and online copyright enforcement, as well as software piracy.

A quarter of a century ago, computer programs were the first digital and purely functional object to be integrated into copyright which up until then was merely concerned with works of literature and the arts. The course highlights the driving technical and economic forces behind this legal development. Following, the legal issues related to copyright and computer programs will be discussed on the basis of EU-Directive 2009/24/EC (initially published as Directive 91/250/EEC). A particular focus is on the case law handed down by the CJEU, in particular the "UsedSoft"-decision which addresses fundamental problems of goods and services in the digital networked environment as seen from the perspective of the freedom of movement of goods and services. Finally, as regards licensing, the conceptual difference between classical proprietary licensing schemes on the one hand, and open source licensing on the other hand will be discussed.

Particular problems related to the rights of performing artists and producers in the entertainment industry, including a comparison between the situation in the U.S. and the EU, inter alia with respect to the relative strength of the parties involved, as reflected e.g. in collective agreements and the role of trade unions, branch organizations etc.; problems of international contractual law in the entertainment industry; protection of merchandising property.

Consideration of the changing role of the copy in copyright law and in cultural dissemination, using materials drawn from law, cultural history, sociology, and art theory. Articulation of features of traditional dissemination through discrete copies and the alteration of those features through digital network distribution and typical rights management permission bundles. The effect of audio and video recording and computer technologies on our understanding of the copy, and proposals for reform of the statutory exclusive rights. (Examination)

This course allows students to examine and understand the increasingly relevant interplays between IP and other legal regimes in international law. It deals with the following four pertinent aspects: 1) The substantive law intersections between IP and other areas of international law; 2) the protection of IP via FTAs, investment regimes and human rights treaties; 3) the concepts in international customary and treaty law which address norm hierarchy and conflict; and 4) the international institutions whose work involves looking at IP from different perspectives. The main learning objective is to raise awareness of the multitude of diverse and specialized regimes relevant for international IP protection and encourage critical analysis of its role in the wider international law framework.

International trade in goods protected by copyright, patent or trademark law has become a matter of enormous economic significance. This course will focus on the issue of whether and when owners of intellectual property rights can continue to control the distribution of goods that embody copyrighted works, inventions, or trademarks, and conversely, of whether and when those rights are "exhausted." Particular attention will be given to the geographic scope of exhaustion, which gives rise to issues of "parallel importation" and "grey goods," and the economic and social policy considerations underlying exhaustion policies. The course will cover all three major categories of intellectual property and review the response of the U.S., the E.U., and other legal systems. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This course examines some of the principal legal doctrines that govern the organization of and activity on the Internet. These include the allocation of domain names and Internet Protocol addresses, internet service provider liability for copyright and trademark infringement, digital rights management, and electronic commerce. (Examination)

In recent years, tensions have increased between indigenous peoples and western industries about the use of genetic resources belonging to their land, their traditional knowledge and folklore. Under intellectual property systems, these achievements are regularly not protected, but indigenous peoples consider them under their own (customary) laws as belonging to them. Since industries often make benefits from using genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore either as such or as a basis for further (patentable) inventions and derived works protected by copyright, indigenous peoples have claimed that protection be established so as to be able to control the use of these achievements, to share in the benefits, to be able to prevent offensive or other uses damaging their spiritual interests, and to have their origin acknowledged. This course will consider these issues in the framework both of examples of national and regional legislation and of efforts to develop international norms and standards, in particular in WIPO. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

The field of Media Law is comprehensive in scope. No doubt, freedom of expression builds the foundation of Media Law. However, particular aspects of Media Law are scattered throughout other, distinct fields of law (e.g. Copyright Law, Competition Law, Anti-trust Law, Criminal Law, Tort Law, etc.). Depending on one's perspective, the cross-cutting nature of Media Law may be seen either as paradigmatic of "modern" fields of law or as evidence that no such specific area of law exists. Putting such systemic questions aside, this course emphasizes the presence and function of media relevant norms at both the individual level (producers / users / recipients of media) and the institutional level (production framework / role of State). Within this context and in keeping with the international and comparative focus of the MIPLC program, this course will focus on the various aspects of Media Law from both an international and national (U.S. Law / German Law) point of view.

This course considers (i) Concepts and basics of the data economy (ii) Different types of data and the relevant ‘big data’ use scenarios (iii) Regulatory objectives: free flow of data, data access and transfer, data quality, portability, interoperability and standards (iv) Legal protection of data: European Database Directive 96/9/EC; Trade Secret Directive 2016/943; other relevant legal instruments (contracts etc.) (v) Possible ways ahead for a fair and balanced regulation of the data economy.

Further analysis of legal problems in the area of unfair competition and trade practices with a comparative view to the United States, including a survey on protection of geographical indications under EU and TRIPS.

The theoretical knowledge gained from the trade mark courses in the winter can be enhanced at the three-day course Practical Training in Trademark Law offered by two experienced trademark practitioners from the United States and Europe, respectively. The course will offer practical exercises and compare US trademark law and European trademark law from the perspective of the practitioner.

This course allows students to examine and understand the increasingly relevant interplays between IP and other legal regimes in international law. It deals with the following four pertinent aspects: 1) The substantive law intersections between IP and other areas of international law; 2) the protection of IP via FTAs, investment regimes and human rights treaties; 3) the concepts in international customary and treaty law which address norm hierarchy and conflict; and 4) the international institutions whose work involves looking at IP from different perspectives. The main learning objective is to raise awareness of the multitude of diverse and specialized regimes relevant for international IP protection and encourage critical analysis of its role in the wider international law framework.

International trade in goods protected by copyright, patent or trademark law has become a matter of enormous economic significance. This course will focus on the issue of whether and when owners of intellectual property rights can continue to control the distribution of goods that embody copyrighted works, inventions, or trademarks, and conversely, of whether and when those rights are "exhausted." Particular attention will be given to the geographic scope of exhaustion, which gives rise to issues of "parallel importation" and "grey goods," and the economic and social policy considerations underlying exhaustion policies. The course will cover all three major categories of intellectual property and review the response of the U.S., the E.U., and other legal systems. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This course examines some of the principal legal doctrines that govern the organization of and activity on the Internet. These include the allocation of domain names and Internet Protocol addresses, internet service provider liability for copyright and trademark infringement, digital rights management, and electronic commerce. (Examination)

Protection of privacy, including protection of private data; personality merchandising under U.S. law with a comparative view to relevant EU legislation as well as national law in selected EU countries, particularly in Germany and in the United Kingdom.

In recent years, tensions have increased between indigenous peoples and western industries about the use of genetic resources belonging to their land, their traditional knowledge and folklore. Under intellectual property systems, these achievements are regularly not protected, but indigenous peoples consider them under their own (customary) laws as belonging to them. Since industries often make benefits from using genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore either as such or as a basis for further (patentable) inventions and derived works protected by copyright, indigenous peoples have claimed that protection be established so as to be able to control the use of these achievements, to share in the benefits, to be able to prevent offensive or other uses damaging their spiritual interests, and to have their origin acknowledged. This course will consider these issues in the framework both of examples of national and regional legislation and of efforts to develop international norms and standards, in particular in WIPO. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

This course provides the students with a critical overview of the recent developments in competition law and policy with a focus on developing and emerging economies. How markets work for them and the role of antitrust will be discussed. The course has both an international and a comparative component. It analyzes and compares the competition law and policy of selected developing and emerging economies including India, China and South Africa with the practice in developed jurisdictions, in particular the European Union (EU) and the United States. The international component explores extraterritoriality, conflicts, convergence and the efforts to develop a global competition regime from the perspective of emerging economies.

This course offers students an inside look at the practice of competition law from the perspectives of an attorney and a representative of a competition authority. The course considers: (i) The taxonomy of antitrust and competition law from a practical perspective; (ii) The core concepts employed in antitrust and competition law; (iii) Market definition (defining the relevant market) and the role of IP and innovation; (iv) Merger control in the US and in Europe including standstill and gun jumping; (v) Substantive merger review and the role of IP and mergers; (vi) Horizontal agreements and cartel enforcement; (vii) Vertical agreements with a particular focus on licensing, resale price maintenance and online sales; (viii) Private enforcement and class actions; (ix) Public enforcement and remedies; (x) Competition law strategies from the perspective of an attorney; (xi) New tendencies in competition law from the perspective of a competition authority.

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This courtroom simulation course aims to give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a practical case in patent and competition law by putting them in the shoes of a trial lawyer. The practical case deals with one of the most exciting and challenging problems in IP law, namely the enforcement of a patent being "essential" for the application of an industry standard. This involves the interaction between patent and competition law, the problem of "patent ambushing", the relevance of IPR policies, and the problem of proving infringement of an (allegedly) standard-essential patent. All participants meet on the first day to form the teams of lawyers and to receive a basic introduction into the subject matter of the case including a Q&A session. In addition to the syllabus, each party receives further documents which may or may not be relevant for the case. Between the first and the second day the parties exchange "skeleton briefs" summarizing possible new facts (and respective evidence) and party´s legal arguments. The parties are invited to adjust their oral arguments in the light of the facts and legal arguments outlined in the skeleton brief provided by the other side. Parties may exchange amended "skeleton briefs" on a voluntary basis. In the oral hearing on the second day of class, party A has 10 minutes to make their opening statement, followed by 10 minutes of rebuttal time for party B. After that, party A has 5 minutes for their concluding remarks, followed by 5 minutes for party B. After all teams finished their pleadings, feedback will be given on the presented arguments. The two most persuasive teams will receive a prize.

Numerous and diverse as they are, trade secrets share one common feature – they all cover information which is actively kept from becoming generally accessible. The course will clarify the nature of trade secret rights as compared to intellectual property rights and will provide a comparative analysis of trade secret protection in both continental and common law systems. The course will address statutory as well as a (pre-)contractual trade secret protection, including but not limited to employer-employee or licensor-licensee relationship. In addition, the role of trade secrets in R&D co-operations and the impact which trade secrets may have on technology transfer will be discussed. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

This course explores the application of European, U.S. and international patent law to practical cases. Example of topics covered are: patent litigation strategies (forum shopping, warning letters and "torpedo" claims); drafting a patent application and replying to substantive communications from the USPTO and from EPO; enforcement in the U.S. (including the appellate process at the Federal Circuit) and in Europe.

The course is structured in two parts. The first part (Traphagen) is aimed at providing an overview of the enforcement of copyright, addressing general issues and highlighting the most pressing problems, especially in the context of international enforcement. The second part (Strowel) focuses on the enforcement of copyright under Community Law (e.g. the 2004 Enforcement Directive and 2003 Customs Regulation) and addresses special issues such as the delicate relationship between data protection and online copyright enforcement, as well as software piracy.

The theoretical knowledge gained from the trade mark courses in the winter can be enhanced at the three-day course Practical Training in Trademark Law offered by two experienced trademark practitioners from the United States and Europe, respectively. The course will offer practical exercises and compare US trademark law and European trademark law from the perspective of the practitioner.

This course offers students an inside look at the practice of competition law from the perspectives of an attorney and a representative of a competition authority. The course considers: (i) The taxonomy of antitrust and competition law from a practical perspective; (ii) The core concepts employed in antitrust and competition law; (iii) Market definition (defining the relevant market) and the role of IP and innovation; (iv) Merger control in the US and in Europe including standstill and gun jumping; (v) Substantive merger review and the role of IP and mergers; (vi) Horizontal agreements and cartel enforcement; (vii) Vertical agreements with a particular focus on licensing, resale price maintenance and online sales; (viii) Private enforcement and class actions; (ix) Public enforcement and remedies; (x) Competition law strategies from the perspective of an attorney; (xi) New tendencies in competition law from the perspective of a competition authority.

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This courtroom simulation course aims to give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a practical case in patent and competition law by putting them in the shoes of a trial lawyer. The practical case deals with one of the most exciting and challenging problems in IP law, namely the enforcement of a patent being "essential" for the application of an industry standard. This involves the interaction between patent and competition law, the problem of "patent ambushing", the relevance of IPR policies, and the problem of proving infringement of an (allegedly) standard-essential patent. All participants meet on the first day to form the teams of lawyers and to receive a basic introduction into the subject matter of the case including a Q&A session. In addition to the syllabus, each party receives further documents which may or may not be relevant for the case. Between the first and the second day the parties exchange "skeleton briefs" summarizing possible new facts (and respective evidence) and party´s legal arguments. The parties are invited to adjust their oral arguments in the light of the facts and legal arguments outlined in the skeleton brief provided by the other side. Parties may exchange amended "skeleton briefs" on a voluntary basis. In the oral hearing on the second day of class, party A has 10 minutes to make their opening statement, followed by 10 minutes of rebuttal time for party B. After that, party A has 5 minutes for their concluding remarks, followed by 5 minutes for party B. After all teams finished their pleadings, feedback will be given on the presented arguments. The two most persuasive teams will receive a prize.

This course will examine the roles of courts that have been established to decide intellectual property disputes, and patent law disputes in particular. It will focus in particular in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but will also compare that court and its patent jurisprudence with specialized courts in Europe and Asia. The course will consider the advantages and disadvantages of courts that are limited in subject matter jurisdiction. (Examination)

This course will introduce the theoretical background of data protection/privacy as well as explore the key legal concepts and relevant case law. We will examine data protection/privacy under U.S. law with a comparative view of European Union law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the E-Privacy Directive & Regulation. The course will also include discussions on data protection/privacy issues in the context of the Internet, electronic communications, and social media.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

This course examines the key IP and corporate legal issues that arise when a start-up company desires a global impact. For example, an inventor who develops a new and possibly patentable technology may wish to commercialize it and develop a start-up company based on it, and expand sales beyond the United States. A company wanting a global imprint will face a number of legal issues that differ from those facing a company that operates solely in a single country. The course will focus on issues of corporate organization, including securities issues that a company must keep in mind if it contemplates issuing stock to the public in the future, as well as intellectual property issues. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

Analysis of the theoretical rationales underlying innovation policies and the institutional implementations of those policies in various nations and supranational organizations, including consideration both of the crucial roles of intellectual property rights systems and of the problems they create. Consideration of intellectual property systems in conjunction with other elements of innovation policies, such as subsidization of R&D, tax incentives for innovation activities, and preferential treatment of particular sources of finance (e.g., private equity, small business loans for innovation projects); quantification of the economic effects of these policies.

The course covers both the economic and managerial aspects of innovation. Students will get in-depth understanding of key aspects of innovation processes and their institutional and strategic implications. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop suggestions for new innovation strategies and their implementation.

Consideration of approaches to the valuation of various types of intangible assets, such as patent rights, copyrights and brand names, in the course of licensing negotiations, valuation of start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, and general strategic planning. Emphasis is placed on a detailed understanding of theoretical underpinnings as well as the actual execution of IA valuation tasks. Practitioners from the IP community will be involved to provide hands-on experience in asset valuation.

This course will introduce the theoretical background of data protection/privacy as well as explore the key legal concepts and relevant case law. We will examine data protection/privacy under U.S. law with a comparative view of European Union law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the E-Privacy Directive & Regulation. The course will also include discussions on data protection/privacy issues in the context of the Internet, electronic communications, and social media.

This course considers particularities of Japanese Patent Law, South Korean Patent Law, and Indian Patent Law. The jurisdictions dealt with per semester vary on a rotating basis.

Determining what activity should be eligible for patent protection has been a major source of controversy for the past three decades, particularly as new technologies such as software and biotechnology gain economic importance. This course will consider how such problems have been addressed on each side of the Atlantic. We will consider how patent eligibility has been addressed under U.S. law, EU law, the European Patent Convention, and selected national laws. We will also discuss some of the larger economic, institutional, and social policy considerations underlying different approaches.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

The course covers all legal, economical and political aspects of patenting of software related inventions. It starts with an analysis what a software patent is. We then discuss the patentability of software related inventions in Europe, as compared to the patentability of software related inventions in the USA. Furthermore, the course focusses on practical issues such as how to claim software technology and enforcement of software patents. We touch the very controversial topic of the relationship between software patents and industry standard. Last but not least, the course analyses the economic and political background of the controversy related to software patents.

The course will address public policy and practice considerations relating to the patenting of biotechnological inventions with in-depth treatment of a unique practice area. The main focus of the course will be the European and the US statutory law and practice, including special aspects of plant variety protection, as they are embedded in the TRIPS Agreement and the UPOV Convention.

A quarter of a century ago, computer programs were the first digital and purely functional object to be integrated into copyright which up until then was merely concerned with works of literature and the arts. The course highlights the driving technical and economic forces behind this legal development. Following, the legal issues related to copyright and computer programs will be discussed on the basis of EU-Directive 2009/24/EC (initially published as Directive 91/250/EEC). A particular focus is on the case law handed down by the CJEU, in particular the "UsedSoft"-decision which addresses fundamental problems of goods and services in the digital networked environment as seen from the perspective of the freedom of movement of goods and services. Finally, as regards licensing, the conceptual difference between classical proprietary licensing schemes on the one hand, and open source licensing on the other hand will be discussed.

Particular problems related to the rights of performing artists and producers in the entertainment industry, including a comparison between the situation in the U.S. and the EU, inter alia with respect to the relative strength of the parties involved, as reflected e.g. in collective agreements and the role of trade unions, branch organizations etc.; problems of international contractual law in the entertainment industry; protection of merchandising property.

Consideration of the changing role of the copy in copyright law and in cultural dissemination, using materials drawn from law, cultural history, sociology, and art theory. Articulation of features of traditional dissemination through discrete copies and the alteration of those features through digital network distribution and typical rights management permission bundles. The effect of audio and video recording and computer technologies on our understanding of the copy, and proposals for reform of the statutory exclusive rights. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This course examines some of the principal legal doctrines that govern the organization of and activity on the Internet. These include the allocation of domain names and Internet Protocol addresses, internet service provider liability for copyright and trademark infringement, digital rights management, and electronic commerce. (Examination)

Numerous and diverse as they are, trade secrets share one common feature – they all cover information which is actively kept from becoming generally accessible. The course will clarify the nature of trade secret rights as compared to intellectual property rights and will provide a comparative analysis of trade secret protection in both continental and common law systems. The course will address statutory as well as a (pre-)contractual trade secret protection, including but not limited to employer-employee or licensor-licensee relationship. In addition, the role of trade secrets in R&D co-operations and the impact which trade secrets may have on technology transfer will be discussed. (Examination)

Analysis of the theoretical rationales underlying innovation policies and the institutional implementations of those policies in various nations and supranational organizations, including consideration both of the crucial roles of intellectual property rights systems and of the problems they create. Consideration of intellectual property systems in conjunction with other elements of innovation policies, such as subsidization of R&D, tax incentives for innovation activities, and preferential treatment of particular sources of finance (e.g., private equity, small business loans for innovation projects); quantification of the economic effects of these policies.

The course covers both the economic and managerial aspects of innovation. Students will get in-depth understanding of key aspects of innovation processes and their institutional and strategic implications. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop suggestions for new innovation strategies and their implementation.

Consideration of approaches to the valuation of various types of intangible assets, such as patent rights, copyrights and brand names, in the course of licensing negotiations, valuation of start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, and general strategic planning. Emphasis is placed on a detailed understanding of theoretical underpinnings as well as the actual execution of IA valuation tasks. Practitioners from the IP community will be involved to provide hands-on experience in asset valuation.

The field of Media Law is comprehensive in scope. No doubt, freedom of expression builds the foundation of Media Law. However, particular aspects of Media Law are scattered throughout other, distinct fields of law (e.g. Copyright Law, Competition Law, Anti-trust Law, Criminal Law, Tort Law, etc.). Depending on one's perspective, the cross-cutting nature of Media Law may be seen either as paradigmatic of "modern" fields of law or as evidence that no such specific area of law exists. Putting such systemic questions aside, this course emphasizes the presence and function of media relevant norms at both the individual level (producers / users / recipients of media) and the institutional level (production framework / role of State). Within this context and in keeping with the international and comparative focus of the MIPLC program, this course will focus on the various aspects of Media Law from both an international and national (U.S. Law / German Law) point of view.

This course considers (i) Concepts and basics of the data economy (ii) Different types of data and the relevant ‘big data’ use scenarios (iii) Regulatory objectives: free flow of data, data access and transfer, data quality, portability, interoperability and standards (iv) Legal protection of data: European Database Directive 96/9/EC; Trade Secret Directive 2016/943; other relevant legal instruments (contracts etc.) (v) Possible ways ahead for a fair and balanced regulation of the data economy.

This course will introduce the theoretical background of data protection/privacy as well as explore the key legal concepts and relevant case law. We will examine data protection/privacy under U.S. law with a comparative view of European Union law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the E-Privacy Directive & Regulation. The course will also include discussions on data protection/privacy issues in the context of the Internet, electronic communications, and social media.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

The course presents the main issues related to copyright licensing, highlighting the impacts of the development of digitization and internet on the traditional schemes and framework. The course considers the individual management of copyright (the wide spread buy-out balanced by the legal protection of the creator, and the issues raised by the development of creative commons licenses) and the collective management of copyrights (with a focus on its traditional scheme in Continental Europe and the turmoil following the reactions of the European Commission to the adaptation of CMOs to internet).

Particular problems related to the rights of performing artists and producers in the entertainment industry, including a comparison between the situation in the U.S. and the EU, inter alia with respect to the relative strength of the parties involved, as reflected e.g. in collective agreements and the role of trade unions, branch organizations etc.; problems of international contractual law in the entertainment industry; protection of merchandising property.

International trade in goods protected by copyright, patent or trademark law has become a matter of enormous economic significance. This course will focus on the issue of whether and when owners of intellectual property rights can continue to control the distribution of goods that embody copyrighted works, inventions, or trademarks, and conversely, of whether and when those rights are "exhausted." Particular attention will be given to the geographic scope of exhaustion, which gives rise to issues of "parallel importation" and "grey goods," and the economic and social policy considerations underlying exhaustion policies. The course will cover all three major categories of intellectual property and review the response of the U.S., the E.U., and other legal systems. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

Protection of privacy, including protection of private data; personality merchandising under U.S. law with a comparative view to relevant EU legislation as well as national law in selected EU countries, particularly in Germany and in the United Kingdom.

The course covers both the economic and managerial aspects of innovation. Students will get in-depth understanding of key aspects of innovation processes and their institutional and strategic implications. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop suggestions for new innovation strategies and their implementation.

This course considers particularities of Japanese Patent Law, South Korean Patent Law, and Indian Patent Law. The jurisdictions dealt with per semester vary on a rotating basis.

Determining what activity should be eligible for patent protection has been a major source of controversy for the past three decades, particularly as new technologies such as software and biotechnology gain economic importance. This course will consider how such problems have been addressed on each side of the Atlantic. We will consider how patent eligibility has been addressed under U.S. law, EU law, the European Patent Convention, and selected national laws. We will also discuss some of the larger economic, institutional, and social policy considerations underlying different approaches.

This course covers the following topics: (i) patent licensing in the business context; (ii) patent Licenses v. know-how "licenses"; (iii) license agreement – basic content; (iv) pitfalls in licensing projects; (v) antitrust issues (TTBER). A simulation on licensing negotiations is part of this course.

This course explores the application of European, U.S. and international patent law to practical cases. Example of topics covered are: patent litigation strategies (forum shopping, warning letters and "torpedo" claims); drafting a patent application and replying to substantive communications from the USPTO and from EPO; enforcement in the U.S. (including the appellate process at the Federal Circuit) and in Europe.

The course covers all legal, economical and political aspects of patenting of software related inventions. It starts with an analysis what a software patent is. We then discuss the patentability of software related inventions in Europe, as compared to the patentability of software related inventions in the USA. Furthermore, the course focusses on practical issues such as how to claim software technology and enforcement of software patents. We touch the very controversial topic of the relationship between software patents and industry standard. Last but not least, the course analyses the economic and political background of the controversy related to software patents.

The course will address public policy and practice considerations relating to the patenting of biotechnological inventions with in-depth treatment of a unique practice area. The main focus of the course will be the European and the US statutory law and practice, including special aspects of plant variety protection, as they are embedded in the TRIPS Agreement and the UPOV Convention.

The course will review specific issues relating to both the patent and non-patent protection of pharmaceuticals under U.S. and European law. The instructors will review the U.S. Hatch-Waxman Act and its foreign analogues, including such topics as the Orange Book, specialized patent litigation proceedings, the experimental use privilege, and the role of international agreements (including both the TRIPS Agreement and Free Trade Agreements). The course will also cover patent term extensions (or Supplementary Protection Certificates in the case of the EU), regulatory data protection and market exclusivity rules, and the relationship between patent and non-patent protection and its use in Life Cycle Management strategies. Coverage will incorporate recent issues of particular concern, including authorized generics, homeland security, and antitrust/competition matters as they pertain to pharmaceuticals.

The course presents the main issues related to copyright licensing, highlighting the impacts of the development of digitization and internet on the traditional schemes and framework. The course considers the individual management of copyright (the wide spread buy-out balanced by the legal protection of the creator, and the issues raised by the development of creative commons licenses) and the collective management of copyrights (with a focus on its traditional scheme in Continental Europe and the turmoil following the reactions of the European Commission to the adaptation of CMOs to internet).

The course is structured in two parts. The first part (Traphagen) is aimed at providing an overview of the enforcement of copyright, addressing general issues and highlighting the most pressing problems, especially in the context of international enforcement. The second part (Strowel) focuses on the enforcement of copyright under Community Law (e.g. the 2004 Enforcement Directive and 2003 Customs Regulation) and addresses special issues such as the delicate relationship between data protection and online copyright enforcement, as well as software piracy.

A quarter of a century ago, computer programs were the first digital and purely functional object to be integrated into copyright which up until then was merely concerned with works of literature and the arts. The course highlights the driving technical and economic forces behind this legal development. Following, the legal issues related to copyright and computer programs will be discussed on the basis of EU-Directive 2009/24/EC (initially published as Directive 91/250/EEC). A particular focus is on the case law handed down by the CJEU, in particular the "UsedSoft"-decision which addresses fundamental problems of goods and services in the digital networked environment as seen from the perspective of the freedom of movement of goods and services. Finally, as regards licensing, the conceptual difference between classical proprietary licensing schemes on the one hand, and open source licensing on the other hand will be discussed.

Particular problems related to the rights of performing artists and producers in the entertainment industry, including a comparison between the situation in the U.S. and the EU, inter alia with respect to the relative strength of the parties involved, as reflected e.g. in collective agreements and the role of trade unions, branch organizations etc.; problems of international contractual law in the entertainment industry; protection of merchandising property.

Consideration of the changing role of the copy in copyright law and in cultural dissemination, using materials drawn from law, cultural history, sociology, and art theory. Articulation of features of traditional dissemination through discrete copies and the alteration of those features through digital network distribution and typical rights management permission bundles. The effect of audio and video recording and computer technologies on our understanding of the copy, and proposals for reform of the statutory exclusive rights. (Examination)

Further analysis of legal problems in the area of unfair competition and trade practices with a comparative view to the United States, including a survey on protection of geographical indications under EU and TRIPS.

The theoretical knowledge gained from the trade mark courses in the winter can be enhanced at the three-day course Practical Training in Trademark Law offered by two experienced trademark practitioners from the United States and Europe, respectively. The course will offer practical exercises and compare US trademark law and European trademark law from the perspective of the practitioner.

This course provides the students with a critical overview of the recent developments in competition law and policy with a focus on developing and emerging economies. How markets work for them and the role of antitrust will be discussed. The course has both an international and a comparative component. It analyzes and compares the competition law and policy of selected developing and emerging economies including India, China and South Africa with the practice in developed jurisdictions, in particular the European Union (EU) and the United States. The international component explores extraterritoriality, conflicts, convergence and the efforts to develop a global competition regime from the perspective of emerging economies.

This course offers students an inside look at the practice of competition law from the perspectives of an attorney and a representative of a competition authority. The course considers: (i) The taxonomy of antitrust and competition law from a practical perspective; (ii) The core concepts employed in antitrust and competition law; (iii) Market definition (defining the relevant market) and the role of IP and innovation; (iv) Merger control in the US and in Europe including standstill and gun jumping; (v) Substantive merger review and the role of IP and mergers; (vi) Horizontal agreements and cartel enforcement; (vii) Vertical agreements with a particular focus on licensing, resale price maintenance and online sales; (viii) Private enforcement and class actions; (ix) Public enforcement and remedies; (x) Competition law strategies from the perspective of an attorney; (xi) New tendencies in competition law from the perspective of a competition authority.

This course allows students to examine and understand the increasingly relevant interplays between IP and other legal regimes in international law. It deals with the following four pertinent aspects: 1) The substantive law intersections between IP and other areas of international law; 2) the protection of IP via FTAs, investment regimes and human rights treaties; 3) the concepts in international customary and treaty law which address norm hierarchy and conflict; and 4) the international institutions whose work involves looking at IP from different perspectives. The main learning objective is to raise awareness of the multitude of diverse and specialized regimes relevant for international IP protection and encourage critical analysis of its role in the wider international law framework.

International trade in goods protected by copyright, patent or trademark law has become a matter of enormous economic significance. This course will focus on the issue of whether and when owners of intellectual property rights can continue to control the distribution of goods that embody copyrighted works, inventions, or trademarks, and conversely, of whether and when those rights are "exhausted." Particular attention will be given to the geographic scope of exhaustion, which gives rise to issues of "parallel importation" and "grey goods," and the economic and social policy considerations underlying exhaustion policies. The course will cover all three major categories of intellectual property and review the response of the U.S., the E.U., and other legal systems. (Examination)

This course explains the potential and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in the context of IP disputes. Its focus lies principally on arbitration, although attention is also paid to mediation. Questions about jurisdiction, the relationship between arbitral tribunals and municipal legal systems, and the role of administering institutions are analyzed and debated. Consideration is also given to the drafting of arbitration clauses and the dynamics of the arbitral process. Standardized ADR procedures for domain name dispute resolution are also discussed. This course includes an arbitration simulation in which students present a case before an arbitral tribunal, as well as some mediation exercises.

This courtroom simulation course aims to give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a practical case in patent and competition law by putting them in the shoes of a trial lawyer. The practical case deals with one of the most exciting and challenging problems in IP law, namely the enforcement of a patent being "essential" for the application of an industry standard. This involves the interaction between patent and competition law, the problem of "patent ambushing", the relevance of IPR policies, and the problem of proving infringement of an (allegedly) standard-essential patent. All participants meet on the first day to form the teams of lawyers and to receive a basic introduction into the subject matter of the case including a Q&A session. In addition to the syllabus, each party receives further documents which may or may not be relevant for the case. Between the first and the second day the parties exchange "skeleton briefs" summarizing possible new facts (and respective evidence) and party´s legal arguments. The parties are invited to adjust their oral arguments in the light of the facts and legal arguments outlined in the skeleton brief provided by the other side. Parties may exchange amended "skeleton briefs" on a voluntary basis. In the oral hearing on the second day of class, party A has 10 minutes to make their opening statement, followed by 10 minutes of rebuttal time for party B. After that, party A has 5 minutes for their concluding remarks, followed by 5 minutes for party B. After all teams finished their pleadings, feedback will be given on the presented arguments. The two most persuasive teams will receive a prize.

This course will examine the roles of courts that have been established to decide intellectual property disputes, and patent law disputes in particular. It will focus in particular in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but will also compare that court and its patent jurisprudence with specialized courts in Europe and Asia. The course will consider the advantages and disadvantages of courts that are limited in subject matter jurisdiction. (Examination)

This course examines some of the principal legal doctrines that govern the organization of and activity on the Internet. These include the allocation of domain names and Internet Protocol addresses, internet service provider liability for copyright and trademark infringement, digital rights management, and electronic commerce. (Examination)

Numerous and diverse as they are, trade secrets share one common feature – they all cover information which is actively kept from becoming generally accessible. The course will clarify the nature of trade secret rights as compared to intellectual property rights and will provide a comparative analysis of trade secret protection in both continental and common law systems. The course will address statutory as well as a (pre-)contractual trade secret protection, including but not limited to employer-employee or licensor-licensee relationship. In addition, the role of trade secrets in R&D co-operations and the impact which trade secrets may have on technology transfer will be discussed. (Examination)

Protection of privacy, including protection of private data; personality merchandising under U.S. law with a comparative view to relevant EU legislation as well as national law in selected EU countries, particularly in Germany and in the United Kingdom.

In recent years, tensions have increased between indigenous peoples and western industries about the use of genetic resources belonging to their land, their traditional knowledge and folklore. Under intellectual property systems, these achievements are regularly not protected, but indigenous peoples consider them under their own (customary) laws as belonging to them. Since industries often make benefits from using genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore either as such or as a basis for further (patentable) inventions and derived works protected by copyright, indigenous peoples have claimed that protection be established so as to be able to control the use of these achievements, to share in the benefits, to be able to prevent offensive or other uses damaging their spiritual interests, and to have their origin acknowledged. This course will consider these issues in the framework both of examples of national and regional legislation and of efforts to develop international norms and standards, in particular in WIPO. (Examination)

This course examines the key IP and corporate legal issues that arise when a start-up company desires a global impact. For example, an inventor who develops a new and possibly patentable technology may wish to commercialize it and develop a start-up company based on it, and expand sales beyond the United States. A company wanting a global imprint will face a number of legal issues that differ from those facing a company that operates solely in a single country. The course will focus on issues of corporate organization, including securities issues that a company must keep in mind if it contemplates issuing stock to the public in the future, as well as intellectual property issues. (Examination)

Intellectual property has long generated a pitched debate among economists concerning both whether it is economically sensible for society to recognize any intellectual property rights and, assuming such rights should be recognized, what the optimal scope of such rights should be. This course gives an introduction to that long-running debate and to its legal implications for the structure of intellectual property rights.

Analysis of the theoretical rationales underlying innovation policies and the institutional implementations of those policies in various nations and supranational organizations, including consideration both of the crucial roles of intellectual property rights systems and of the problems they create. Consideration of intellectual property systems in conjunction with other elements of innovation policies, such as subsidization of R&D, tax incentives for innovation activities, and preferential treatment of particular sources of finance (e.g., private equity, small business loans for innovation projects); quantification of the economic effects of these policies.

The course covers both the economic and managerial aspects of innovation. Students will get in-depth understanding of key aspects of innovation processes and their institutional and strategic implications. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop suggestions for new innovation strategies and their implementation.

Consideration of approaches to the valuation of various types of intangible assets, such as patent rights, copyrights and brand names, in the course of licensing negotiations, valuation of start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, and general strategic planning. Emphasis is placed on a detailed understanding of theoretical underpinnings as well as the actual execution of IA valuation tasks. Practitioners from the IP community will be involved to provide hands-on experience in asset valuation.

The field of Media Law is comprehensive in scope. No doubt, freedom of expression builds the foundation of Media Law. However, particular aspects of Media Law are scattered throughout other, distinct fields of law (e.g. Copyright Law, Competition Law, Anti-trust Law, Criminal Law, Tort Law, etc.). Depending on one's perspective, the cross-cutting nature of Media Law may be seen either as paradigmatic of "modern" fields of law or as evidence that no such specific area of law exists. Putting such systemic questions aside, this course emphasizes the presence and function of media relevant norms at both the individual level (producers / users / recipients of media) and the institutional level (production framework / role of State). Within this context and in keeping with the international and comparative focus of the MIPLC program, this course will focus on the various aspects of Media Law from both an international and national (U.S. Law / German Law) point of view.

This course considers (i) Concepts and basics of the data economy (ii) Different types of data and the relevant ‘big data’ use scenarios (iii) Regulatory objectives: free flow of data, data access and transfer, data quality, portability, interoperability and standards (iv) Legal protection of data: European Database Directive 96/9/EC; Trade Secret Directive 2016/943; other relevant legal instruments (contracts etc.) (v) Possible ways ahead for a fair and balanced regulation of the data economy.

This course will introduce the theoretical background of data protection/privacy as well as explore the key legal concepts and relevant case law. We will examine data protection/privacy under U.S. law with a comparative view of European Union law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the E-Privacy Directive & Regulation. The course will also include discussions on data protection/privacy issues in the context of the Internet, electronic communications, and social media.