Harlan Curriculum

The John Marshall Harlan Scholars Program at New York Law School is a rigorous academic honors program designed for students who have performed at the top of their law school class. The IILP recently became the most popular center for Harlans, accepting 46 students in the 2010–2011 academic year.  Harlan Scholars, along with Institute Associates, will have the opportunity of working with our faculty, graduate fellows and student research fellows on IILP projects. The Harlans and Associates meet every month to discuss recent developments in IP/technology law. Additionally, they have access to our wide program of elective courses, as well as the opportunity to contribute to IILP Public Statements. Public Statements are intended to provide a forum for discussion and argument for positions strongly held by the students on issues within topics of interest to the IILP.

In consultation with a faculty mentor, honors students who choose to affiliate with the Institute take a common set of core courses plus electives tailored to their professional and scholarly goals. The curriculum affords students maximum flexibility to develop substantive competence and discrete skill sets in the areas of their chosen academic concentration.

In addition, Harlan Scholars affiliated with the Institute are required to produce, and defend before their peers, a project that takes on novel issues of analysis or design. Topics are developed in collaboration with the faculty—with an emphasis on one-on-one consultation between student and faculty as the project develops. During the third year TechLaw Lab phase of the program, Institute students critique each other’s work, develop strategies to publish their results to a broad audience, and learn about new technologies that can change law practice and social, economic, and civic organizations.

Harlan Curriculum

Click here to download Harlan Curriculum Worksheet.

A. Core Courses (Required)

  • Introduction to Intellectual Property
  • Tech Law Lab Seminar (third year or fourth year for evening students)


B. Core Courses (Recommended)

  • Antitrust Law
  • Administrative Law
  • Federal Regulation of Mass Media
  • Internet Law or Information Law


C. Electives (Harlan Scholars are required to take two (2) or more of the following)

  • Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property Law (Seminar)
  • Art Law
  • Broadcasting Regulation in European States
  • Copyright
  • Cybercrime, Cyberterror, and Digital Law Enforcement
  • Entertainment Law
  • European Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law
  • Federal Regulation of Electronic Media
  • Independent Study
  • Information Law
  • Intellectual Property and Competition
  • Intellectual Property Licensing and Drafting: Patent
  • Intellectual Property Licensing and Drafting: Technology
  • Intellectual Property Licensing and Drafting: Media/Publishing
  • Intellectual Property Licensing and Drafting: Entertainment
  • Intellectual Property Licensing and Drafting: Fashion
  • International Intellectual Property
  • Internet Law
  • Introduction to Intellectual Property
  • Legal Land Mines for Lawyers and Journalists
  • Patent Claim Drafting
  • Patent Law
  • Patent Litigation
  • Publishing Law
  • Sports Law
  • Trademark Law
  • Videogame and Entertainment Software Law
  • Visual Persuasion in the Law

II. Sample Course Plans

The following course plans are suggestions about how to plan your classes, based around: 2 required core courses + 2 required electives (+ recommended and other elective courses) + Tech Law Lab. Course plans are flexible and are to be developed in consultation with Institute faculty. Other NYLS courses, such as Corporations, Securities Regulation, and Advanced Civil Procedure may also form part of your proposed program if they meet your pedagogical needs and goals.

 

  • A. Internet Law Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Internet Law
    • Copyright
    • First Amendment in the Digital Age
    • IP Licensing and Drafting: Technology
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • B. Cybercrime Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Internet Law
    • Cybercrime, Cyberterror, and Digital Law Enforcement
    • Criminal Procedure
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • C. Entertainment Law Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Information Law
    • Entertainment Law
    • IP Licensing and Drafting: Entertainment
    • Trademark Law
    • Art Law
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • D. Intellectual Property Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Internet Law
    • Copyright
    • Trademark Law
    • Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property Law (Seminar)
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • E. Law and Journalism Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Advocacy, Media and the Big Case
    • Constitutional Law: Free Speech
    • Legal Landmines for Lawyers and Journalists
    • Visual Persuasion

 

  • F. Media Regulation Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Internet Law
    • Federal Regulation of Electronic Media
    • Administrative Law
    • Antitrust
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • G. Patent Law Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Internet Law
    • Patent Law
    • Patent Claim Drafting
    • IP Licensing and Drafting: Patent
    • Patent Litigation
    • Tech Law Lab

 

  • H. Visual Persuasion/Technology Lawyering Concentration
    • Introduction to Intellectual Property
    • Information Law
    • Visual Persuasion and the Law
    • Advocacy, Media and the Big Case
    • Tech Law Lab

Institute for Information Law TechLaw Lab (2 credits):

The IILP Techlaw Lab provides an opportunity for Harlan Scholars and other IILP students to pursue independent and high-impact research on current issues relating to their course of study. The project requires students to collaborate in teams of 3-5 to produce a significant piece of legal writing or a project, under the supervision of one of the IILP professors. The Techlaw Lab experience integrates, but is distinct from the project requirement. The Techlaw seminar meets at scheduled intervals during both terms of the third year; students receive one credit each in the fall and spring of their third year for a total of 2 credits. The experience permits students to work together to present the fruits of their project and typically involves an external client with specific deliverables. Students will also have  an opportunity to explain and defend their work in a face-to-face setting, both with the external client and to other students enrolled in the Techlaw Lab. Generally students will design and implement a publicly-accessible and Web-based multi-media display of their projects. By putting the results of their work online, students will ensure maximum visibility and impact for their research. In addition, students will have an easily accessible and well-designed presentation of their work to show potential employers and other interested parties at home and abroad. To receive credit, students must attend all sessions of the Techlaw Lab seminar, prepare an oral defense of their project, and prepare an on-line presentation of their project.