Intellectual Property Concentration Track

Concentration Track Advisors

• Robert Gomulkiewicz
• Peter Nicolas

Program Requirements

GENERAL

Follow all of the steps outlined on the Concentration Tracks page.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Not all courses will be available each year.

Students must take at least 20 total credits of courses from the IP-related courses listed below. In the process of earning those 20 credits, students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. All students must take P502 Trademark & Trade Secret Law, P507 Copyright Law, and P508 Patent Law..
2. All students must take at least one course from each of the following categories:
   1. Advanced IP Law
      • P505 International Intellectual Property Law
      • P520 Intellectual Property Theory Seminar
      • P522 Advanced Copyright Law
      • P525 Right of Publicity
      • P545 Advanced Patent Law
      • P546 Advanced Trademark Seminar
      • P589 Intellectual Property Innovations in Science and Technology
   2. IP Law in Context
      • B570 Bio-entrepreneurship and the Law
      • P504 Economic Analysis of IP
      • P509 Antitrust and Intellectual Property Rights
      • P535 Entertainment Law
      • P536 Music Law & Policy
      • P538 Video Game Law
      • P539 Law, Technology, and Economic Development
      • P543 Intellectual Property in East Asia
      • P547 Legal Protection for Computer Software
      • P552 Strategic Intellectual Property Commercialization
      • T545 Int'l Taxation of IP
   3. IP Law in Practice
      • E523 Entrepreneurial Law Clinic
      • E554 Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic
      • P506 Transnational Intellectual Property Law: Theory and Practice
      • P540 Music Industry Deals
      • P548 Litigation Strategies for the Protection of Technology
      • P550 Patent Prosecution
      • P577 Drafting Intellectual Property Licenses
      • Externship with an organization dealing with intellectual property rights (externship must be approved by the Law School Externship Program and a Concentration Track faculty advisor)
3. All students must complete an advanced writing project on an intellectual property law subject. This requirement may be satisfied by writing a major research paper in conjunction with an intellectual property course, as part of an independent study, or by publishing a law journal article.

Intellectual Property Learning Outcomes

J.D. students electing to specialize in the Intellectual Property (“IP”) Concentration Track should achieve the competencies expected of all J.D. students at the University of Washington. In addition, they should be able to:

1. Distinguish among types of IP subject matter and identify sources of protection for each
2. Understand the legal source(s) for the creation and regulation of these IP interests, including differentiating federal and state laws where applicable 
3. With respect to one core area of IP—Patent, Copyright, Trademarks, or Trade Secrets— possess deeper knowledge and skill, including all of the following:
   1. Display basic understanding of the procedures needed to secure IP protection
   2. Demonstrate the ability to respond to a fact pattern by
      1. analyzing whether IP protection could attach
      2. assessing the likely strength and scope of protection, and
      3. identifying and evaluating possible remedies and defenses
   3. Demonstrate comfort with the field’s most important case law and the most important provisions of the relevant statutes
   4. Possess advanced knowledge of the field through coursework or research
4. Understand the operation and features of IP law in at least one industry or regulatory context
5. Possess the ability to apply foundational principles of IP law to new business or artistic contexts
6. Contextualize newly-arising legal cases and controversies, especially as they affect economic or regulatory interests
7. Distinguish areas of overlapping IP protection from gaps in protection between systems
8. Understand the differing theoretical justifications for IP rights, as well for limits on those rights
9. Understand the political, social, economic, and technological forces that inform the development of IP law
10. Understand the role of the judiciary, in effectuating and advancing copyright policy
11. Use IP as a framework for expanding on foundational concepts learned in the 1L year
12. Understand the needs and positions of different stakeholders in IP policy
13. Reflect awareness of the distinctly American features of our IP regimes, set against the backdrop of international treaties to which the United States is a signatory