Intellectual property and technology law shape who controls the basic currency and infrastructure of modern society. The law must encourage creativity and innovation while protecting individual freedoms and democratic values.
Cornell Law students at the main Ithaca campus and at Cornell Tech in NYC work with and learn from scholars, entrepreneurs, and activists at the forefront of these cutting-edge developments.
Yet the inherent properties of these intellectual creations differ so dramatically from traditional objects of law that every meaningful assumption requires careful reconsideration. Likewise, new technologies upend old assumptions about how people live, work, and play, and require new institutional arrangements to promote progress, equity, and justice. This dynamic, evolving and contested space is intellectual property and technology law.
Cornell law faculty combine a deep knowledge of changing technologies with first-hand experience of the challenges facing innovators, lawyers, and regulators. Their research addresses issues such as pervasive surveillance, algorithmic bias, patent reform, technological innovation, blockchain governance, and technology licensing. Cornell Law students at the main Ithaca campus and at Cornell Tech in NYC work with and learn from scholars, entrepreneurs, and activists at the forefront of these cutting-edge developments.
A survey of legal mechanisms for protecting intellectual property including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and related state law doctrines.
This course focuses on U.S. patent law giving comprehensive coverage of doctrinal elements and touching on key policy issues. No technical background is required.
Sizable disagreement and controversy surround many areas of intellectual property. This seminar explores these disputes. By surveying the academic literature the seminar aims to introduce, understand, and ultimately critique the arguments being made for and against various aspects of intellectual property.