Criminal Law of Intellectual Property in the United States

Professor Orin S. Kerr, Associate Professor at the George Washington University Law School, Washington D.C., June 2005

Intellectual property law is generally considered a field of civil law, not criminal law. Criminal intellectual property laws exist, however, and can be quite broad and carry severe sanctions. In this lecture, Professor Orin Kerr will discuss strategies in the United States for enforcing intellectual property laws through criminal sanctions. He will discuss the role of criminal law in the enforcement of intellectual property law, the scope of criminal law provisions relating to intellectual property, and the question of enforcement strategies. His presentation will address copyright law, trademark law, trade secrets law, and patent law.