CS 5060, Fall 2009
Digital Intellectual Property Law

Class web page at:

No textbook. Online treatise at:

Wall Street Journal subscriptions:
http://www.eng.utah.edu/~cs5060/
http://digital-law-online.info
http://subscribe.wsj.com/semester
Topics to be covered
 Software
IP law
 Contracts
and licenses
– Copyrights
– Trade secrets
– Patents
– Particularly open-source and “free”
 Digital
works copyright
 Current topics
Organization of each class
 Reading
assignment on web page
– Sections from treatise, new material,
cases and articles
– Full treatise available online
 Short
discussion of material
 Questions answered
 In-class quiz
– Graded 0 (didn’t take), 1 (below standards),
2, 3 (above standards), and 4 (exceptional)
Grading

Grade will be based on homework
assignments, and midterm and final
examinations
– Essay exams
– Patent drafting homework

Must have an average grade of 2.0 on
in-class exams
– One letter grade lower if less than 2.0 and two
letter grades lower if less than 1.5
– This will be difficult to do if you miss more
than one exam
Introduction to the law
Sources of law
 Statutory
law
– Passed by Congress or a legislature
 Administrative
law
– Regulations of an administrative agency
authorized by statute
 Common
law
– Legal principles derived from court decisions
– Different from court interpreting a statute
Court structure: jurisdiction
 Parallel
federal and state systems
– Federal jurisdiction because case arises under
federal constitution or law, diversity of parties
– Patents, copyrights in federal court
– Trade secrets, contracts in state courts
– In federal court if both state and federal
issues
 Must
have both subject matter and
personal jurisdiction
Court structure: trial courts
 Trial
court jurisdiction
– General jurisdiction
– Special jurisdiction: bankruptcy, small claims,
taxes, federal claims, etc.
 Decides
questions of fact and law
– Law is always determined by the court
– Fact is determined by jury or court
Court structure: trial courts
 Preliminary
injunctions
– Order to halt a particular conduct
– Issued only if there is likelihood of success on
the merits and irreparable damage
 Summary
judgement
– Case can be decided by judge solely as a matter
of law, because no relevant facts in dispute
– May assume that disputed facts go against
party moving for summary judgement
Court structure: appeals
 Appeals
of errors to higher court as
a matter of right
 Generally questions of law
 Great deference given to findings of
fact by trial court
 Generally heard by three judge panel,
sometimes by all judges (en banc)
Court structure: appeals
 All
patent appeals to Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit
 Appeals when there is not a patent
question to “numbered” circuit
– Second and Ninth Circuits have a long history
with copyright appeals
Federal Courts of Appeal
Handy federal court finder at:
http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS/
Court structure: appeals
 Appeal to highest court by
– Writ of Certiorari (“grant cert”)
permission
 Few
intellectual property cases go to
the Supreme Court
– Cases taken because of important national issue
– Cases taken if there is a difference between
the circuits
– But recently, reconsidering Federal Circuit
rulings on general legal matters
Source material
 Statutes
– Public laws passed by Congress
– Codified in the United States Code
» Cited like 17 U.S.C. 101
 Legislative
history
– Primarily committee reports
» Drafted by staff to explain provisions
» Summarizes legislative process
– Sometimes floor remarks
» Floor debate not common on IP bills
Source material
 Court
decisions
– Contained in various reporters
»
»
»
»
West federal reporters (F., F.2d, F.3d, F.Supp)
Also reporters for state decisions
BNA’s United States Patent Quarterly (USPQ)
Cited like 123 F.3d 456
– Other information available
» Summaries of key points in a case (headnotes)
» Digests of cases by topics, annotated statutes
» List of cases citing the case (Shepard’s)
Source material
 Court
decisions
– Cases often go beyond the particular issues,
and contain a more general discussion
» Called “dicta,” often helps predict how a case with
different issues might be decided
» Constitution limits federal courts to actual cases and
controversies
– What we are looking for
» Interpretation of statutory language
» Procedures and rules to be followed in future cases
» Common law principles, beyond the statutes
Source material
 Administrative
regulations
– Collected in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
– Copyright Office and Patent and Trademark
Office may issue only procedural rules
» Except for royalty rates and DMCA exemptions

Agency reports
– Sometimes a report on a particular topic is
requested by statute

Other material
– Law reviews
– Treatises or books
Reading assignment
 For
next class –
Chapter 1 - Copyrights