Special Lecture and Seminar (Contemporary Intellectual Property Law)

Outline of Lecture Course

This course covers basic legal frameworks and advanced issues concerning the protection of intellectual property (IP) (e.g., patents, trademarks, copyrights). Main focus will be put on Japanese law and international treaties (such as the Paris and Berne Conventions, and the TRIPS Agreement), but laws of other major countries, particularly the US and the EU, will be also touched on.

Professor Nishii will teach the first four classes, and then Professor Suzuki will teach the rest of the classes.

Course Objectives

This course aims at introducing students who have not studied IP law before to the basics of IP law. The course will also deal with advanced issues in IP law so that students who are familiar with this area of law would also find it interesting and useful.

Schedule

Lecture	Theme	Lecture Course Description
1	Orientation General Theory (1)	Orientation by Professor Nishii Introduction of IP Law by Professor Nishii
2	General Theory (2)	Basics of Patent Law (1) by Professor Nishii
3	General theory (3)	Basics of Patent Law (2) and Copyright Law (1) by Professor Nishii
4	General theory (4)	Basics of Copyright Law (2) by Professor Nishii
5	Advanced IP Law (Development of Japanese IP Law)	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
6	Advanced Patent Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
7	Advanced Copyright and Design Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
8	Advanced Trademark Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
9	Advanced Unfair Competition Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
10	Patent Remedies/Standards and Patents	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
11	Patent Litigation and Invalidation	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
12	Exhaustion and Parallel Imports	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
13	International Aspects of IP Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
14	International Aspects of IP Law	Lecture by Professor Suzuki
15	Summary

Textbooks

None.

Course Materials/Supplementaries

Materials will be distributed in hard copies or through this system.

Assessment

Performance in the class and a short report at the end of the course will be the basis for grades.

Prerequisites

For the students who have not studied IP law before, it is encouraged to read materials on IP law for beginners such as brochures available from the website of the WIPO.

Instructions for Out-of-Class Study

Students are expected to read assignments (academic articles and other materials) beforehand and contribute actively to discussions in classes.

Responding to Student Questions

Students may ask questions before or after the class. Besides, questions will be accepted accordingly. Those of you who have questions are recommended to obtain an appointment via e-mail.

Other Notes

Those of you who are planning to take this course should contact Professor Suzuki to discuss contents and means of his classes.

Class Materials

---