Full Descriptions of Center Courses

Administrative Law

The growth and complexity of modern government means that much governing is done not by the traditional three branches but by administrative agencies that perform quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial, as well as executive, functions. This course explores administrative process and procedure: how, in the federal government, the Constitution, Congress (through organic statutes and the Administrative Procedure Act), the courts, and the agencies themselves help define the powers and responsibilities of the independent and executive agencies. The course examines specific agencies as bureaucratic institutions, considers approaches to regulatory reform, and places special emphasis on the courts' role in redressing abuses of agency discretion.

Antitrust

This course examines the laws on monopoly and restraint of trade, with special emphasis on the federal antitrust laws. Topics include: the role of competition and the goals of antitrust policy; the common law on monopoly and restraints of trade; historical developments leading to passage of the 1890 Sherman Act; development of the "Rule of Reason" and the "Per Se Doctrine," the 1914 Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts; private and government enforcement of federal and state antitrust laws; market definition, monopoly power, monopolization, attempts to monopolize, and conspiracies to monopolize; competitor collaboration on price fixing, market allocations, and other horizontal restraints; industrial concentration, price leadership, and trade associations; group boycotts, standardization, and joint ventures; the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, and exemptions for regulated industries and state action; resale price maintenance and exclusive territorial arrangements; tying arrangements; exclusive dealing arrangements; refusals to deal; horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers.

Art Law

This course introduces students to the specialized practice of the law as it relates to the creation, purchase, sale, and transfer of art. Here, students analyze the artist-dealer relationship through actual recognition of consignment agreements from the perspective of both artist and dealer; explore the law of auctions and of private sales, and debate the need for further regulation; examine the artistÕs rights, including First Amendment rights and limitations, copyright issues particularly pertinent to artists, moral rights and resale rights, and address the topic of tax and estate planning for collectors and artists, including the tax and estate planning aspects of charitable contributions, the drafting of wills, and the transfer of art work from generation to generation. Additionally, the course touches on the international transport of art and cultural property; the legal responsibilities of appraisers; commissioned works; loans made to museums, and the art collection as an investment property.

Broadcasting Regulation in European States

This course covers the broadcasting laws and policies of Western European states as well as of new democracies arising in Central and Eastern Europe. The subject is important not only for lawyers dealing with European clients but also for U.S. companies dealing with European firms and governments.  

Although the European Union is beginning to move slowly toward development of uniform regulatory policies among its members, each of the 47 separate sovereign European countries retains its traditional jurisdiction over mass communications.  Each has its own broadcasting laws and policies and uses different methods to control content, choice of operators, and the like.

This course, which is normally offered only during the summer, requires two written assignments: a short, in-class examination in the fourth week of the summer semester and a 2,000-word take-home examination handed out on the last day of class and due two weeks later.  

Students must obtain prior permission from Professor Michael Botein to register for this course. 

Cable Television Law

This course explores constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues affecting cable television as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 and the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. The course covers such topics as the division of regulatory power between federal and local governments: access to cable channels, telephone networks, and the Internet; establishment of "open video systems"; regulation of rates for cable and telephone services; ownership and control of cable and telephonic communications; federal preemption of the franchising/refranchising process; and content regulation, including restrictions on obscenity and indecency and rating and electronic blocking of programs with violent or sexual content. A paper is required.

Prerequisite: Federal Regulation of Electronic Media (formerly "Regulation of the Electronic Mass Media" and "Communications Law") or permission of the professor.

Copyright & Literary Property

The protection of literary and other intellectual property, including books, music, art, drama, and other forms of expression, with primary emphasis upon the Copyright Act of 1976. Topics include: what is copyrightable, the scope of protection, remedies, fair use and other defenses to a copyright action, the effect of developing technologies, related state and federal theories of protection, and the preemptive effect of the federal act.

Students who have taken "Intellectual Property: Copyright, Patent, and Trademark" may not register for this course except by permission of the instructor. 

Copyright Law Seminar & Workshop

The course combines a two-hour seminar with closely supervised externships at a law firm, corporation, or non-profit agency involved in copyright or related counseling, licensing, or litigation. The seminar focuses upon problems of copyright registration and licensing in the United States and abroad, and upon litigation, including jurisdiction, proof of copyright infringement, and remedies. The seminar also covers topics that relate to the particular externships in any given semester.

Students devote at least seven hours per week to their externships, attend the seminar, and write a paper (which may consist of written work in the externship, at the discretion of the professor). Class consists of 2 seminar credits graded and 2 placement credits pass/fail. Placement credits do not involve scheduled classes. No more than 14 placement credits may count toward the J.D. Enrollment is limited. Prerequisite: Copyright and Literary Property (CIP110) or by permission of the instructor. 

Defamation, Privacy & Publicity: Protecting One's Image

This seminar examines defamation, privacy, and publicity law in light of First Amendment issues and the practical exploitation of these rights in the literary and entertainment worlds. The course focuses on the show business, legal, and economic issues involved and the relevant constitutional policies.

Defamation topics covered include: the modern law applicable to public figures, including who is a public figure, the misnamed "actual malice" test, and tactical aspects of libel actions viewed as self-aggrandizement or suppression of criticism. Privacy topics include: state-law torts of false light, unwelcome intrusion, and unlicensed commercialization, and their distortion to buttress the exploitation of one's public persona. The right of publicity as a property right of unregulated dimensions and duration will be explored. This is a paper course with limited enrollment.

Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I and II or by permission of the professor. 

Entertainment Law

This course analyzes the types of contracts and agreements used in various sectors of the entertainment industry, including those contracts covering motion picture and television packaging. Other major topics include the financing, production, and distribution of motion pictures and television programs; licensing of programs to networks or sponsors; and commercial and endorsement agreements. The course also discusses the unions and guilds having jurisdiction over creative persons and production companies, antitrust cases pertinent to the motion picture industry, and some copyright and intellectual property problems.

Students who have previously taken Entertainment Law I (CIP130), Entertainment Law II (CIP135), or Entertainment Law: Drafting and Negotiation (CIP190) may not take this course.

Entertainment Law: Drafting & Negotiation

This course, which is offered only in the summer term, deals with the analysis, negotiation, and drafting of management agreements prescribed by unions and guilds; agreements recommended by AFTRA, SAG, WGA, and Actors Equity; agreements for creative personnel in television, motion pictures, recording, and music publishing. Class discussion focuses on draftsmanship and key clauses.

Students who have previously taken Entertainment Law I (CIP130) or Entertainment Law (CIP130) may not take this course. 

European Copyright & Intellectual Property

This course, which is offered only in the summer term, examines current developments in European Community (E.C.) law affecting both intellectual property and privacy protection. In addition to studying the context of E.C. law, it analyzes in depth domestic legislation in several E.C. Member States, including France and the United Kingdom. Students undertake a substantial amount of writing on the topics discussed. Students must obtain prior permission from Professor Michael Botein to register for this course.  

European Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law

This course examines recent developments in European Union (E.U.) law concerning regulation of radio, television, telephone, satellites, and various "new media technologies." The course begins by examining the basic juridical status of E.U. legal institutions--particularly the European Commission. It also explores trade relations between the U.S. and E. U., in light of the E.U.'s changing environment. With regard to broadcasting, the course discusses the continuing effects of the 1989 "open borders" directive, as well as other E.U. and Commission actions to promote the free flow of programming and information. It also will consider issues of copyright, press, advertising, and freedom of information. The coverage includes decisions and policies of the E.U. and Council of Europe.

Students must obtain prior permission from Professor Michael Botein to register for this course. 

Federal Regulation of Electronic Media

This course will provide an introduction to all phases of the electronic media--eg, broadcasting, cable, the Internet, satellites and telephony. It thus can serve as either a relatively brief overview or the basis for advanced courses in all of these fields. The class will begin by examining the history and rationale for regulation of both mass communications and telecommunications. It then will move on to a short discussion of traditional mass media--broadcasting and cable. After that, it will concentrate on emerging "new" technologies and industries, with a focus on current trends toward confluence among the Internet, telephone, and cable industries. 

Intellectual Property: Copyright, Patent, and Trademark

This is a survey course on general principles of copyright, patent, and trademark law. The course covers issues of subject matter, scope of protection, and remedies under each of the federal statutes and related state theories of protection, including rights in books, music, art, drama, inventions, computer programs, and other trade products. Students who have taken "Copyright and Literary Property" (CIP110) may not register for this course except by permission of the instructor. 

Law and Popular Culture

Effective communication and the ability to persuade are essential skills for attorneys. The practical application of these skills reflects both the time and the context of their use. At trial, for example, lawyers must be particularly sensitive to the needs and expectations of their audience. In this course we find that lay jurors' needs and expectations are profoundly influenced by the mass media of their time and the common images and stories that are purveyed by popular culture. During our weekly meetings, we examine the effects of mass media and popular culture in general on legal communications and persuasion at trial and in appellate decision-making. Our studies range from the antebellum trial of John Brown to the 1969 Chicago Seven conspiracy trial to the notorious recent trials involving Rodney King, Reginald Denny, and O. J. Simpson. We see how cultural developments and in particular the shift from print to visual-based communication (including video, multi-media, and computer-based simulations) affect, and may perhaps even revolutionize, the practice of law--both inside and outside the courtroom.

Law and Technology of Electronic Government and Electronic Democracy

Law, Computers and the Internet

Mass Communications & Telecommunications Law: Advanced Topics

This seminar examines cutting-edge topics in a variety of mass communications and telecommunications media. Depending upon the issues at any given time, the course may deal with legal and regulatory questions concerning the following media: radio, television, cable television, "wireless cable," personal communications services, direct broadcast satellites, local exchange carriers, competitive access providers, interexchange carriers, and computer-based services. Issues will include intellectual property rights, the changing First Amendment status of the media, and the "convergence" of mass communications and telecommunications.

This is a paper course. Enrollment is limited, and students must obtain permission of the instructor before registering.

Prerequisites: Regulation of the Electronic Mass Media or permission of the instructor. 

Media Law Seminar & Workshop

The purpose of the course is to give students a highly rigorous exposure to research, writing, and oral presentation in the field of mass communications and telecommunications law. Topics change from year to year, since the course focuses on cutting-edge legal and regulatory issues. Coverage may include legal and regulatory developments in broadcasting, cable, telecommunications, and new technologies. Each student writes two short papers on recent developments and presents them at the weekly seminar meeting. In addition, students produce a substantial paper. At their option, students may also undertake a placement at a law firm, government agency, or corporation, which is arranged and supervised by the teacher. If a student elects to do a placement, the final course paper may be reduced in scope commensurately.

Enrollment is limited and students must obtain permission of the instructor before registering.

Course consists of 2-4 seminar credits graded and placement credits pass/fail. Placement credits do not involve scheduled classes. No more than 14 placement credits may count toward the J.D.

Prerequisites: Regulation of the Electronic Mass Media or permission of the instructor. 

Patent Claim Drafting

Patent claim drafting is at the heart of every aspect of patent law practice. This course will examine sections of the Patent Act, Patent Office Regulations, court cases, and techniques of claim interpretation relevant to the drafting of patent claims, as well as the effect of broader issues of patent practice. The course will also consider the special claim drafting problems related to computer software, electronic, mechanical, chemical, and biotechnology inventions. Students will draft claims from assigned invention disclosures for critical evaluation. At the end of the course, students should be able to draft professionally acceptable claims for basic inventions. There is a final examination.

Patent Law although not required, is recommended.

Patent Law

A study of statutory protection afforded to inventors under the U.S. patent laws. Emphasis is placed on the nature of inventions that are patentable under the U.S. law, the conditions of patentability, the rights afforded a patentee, and remedies for infringement of a U.S. patent. Special problems arising from the licensing of U.S. patents are studied.

Publishing Law

This course includes the negotiation and drafting of contracts for books, magazine articles, and other forms of intellectual property. In addition, students will review major cases in invasion of privacy and libel. The course also covers remedies and dispute resolution.

Sports Law

This course, more appropriately described as sports and the law, examines the application to sports of a variety of different fields of law, including contract, labor, antitrust, intellectual property, disability and constitutional law. Among the specific topics studied are the powers of the commissioner, the players market, the interplay between antitrust and labor law in sports, licensing and broadcasting, the role of agents, and college sports. Although not required, because of the extensive manner in which they apply to sports, a prior course in labor and/or antitrust law is recommended.

Telecommunications Economics and Law

This course is intended to help students understand the economic foundations and impacts of contemporary telecommunications policy. The general template for a session will involve development of core economic principles that inform telecommunications policy with applications, illustrations, and examples drawn from studentsÕ experiences and current events reported in the general and business press. The principal objectives are to (a) demystify economics, and (b) convey to students a useful toolkit for economic analysis as a means of better understanding and evaluating changes in technology, law, and policy.

Telecommunications Regulation, Introduction to

This course will provide an overview of telecommunications from traditional regulation of monopoly telephone companies through the recent deregulatory policies developed to foster merging and emerging technologies. The course will begin with an analysis of the historical regulatory framework developed in a monopoly environment such as rate of return regulation, subsidy funding and the breakup of AT&T into the "Baby Bells." The course also will cover the transitional regulatory approach to a competitive long-distance market and a monopolistic local telephone market. The main thrust of the course, however, will focus on the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Federal Communications Commission's implementation of the 1996 Act. These classes will cover (1) the emergence of competitive access providers and the subsequent obligations of incumbent local telephone companies to open up their markets by interconnecting competitive providers and unbundling their networks (Section 251 of the Act); (2) the requirements under which the incumbent local telephone providers could enter the long-distance market (Section 271 of the Act); (3) the requirements for removing any barriers to competitive entry (Section 253 of the Act); and (4) regulatory incentives to promote advanced telecommunications technologies. If time permits, the course also will address the international telecommunications issues of the World Trade Organization.

Trademark & Unfair Competition

This course covers what trademarks are; their scope of protection; how rights are obtained, confirmed, asserted, and lost, and antitrust limitations on the use of trademarks and investments.

Visual Persuasion in the Law

Law is a part of the larger culture, and our culture is increasingly dominated by mass mediated images--in movies, television, CD-ROM, the Internet, and elsewhere. Images, and not words alone, are crucial to persuasion in politics, advertising, and other domains. Successful lawyers must also be able to understand and deploy visual language in addition to more traditional means of legal analysis and communication. In this course we will learn how to develop a theory of the case-a story that persuades not only legally but culturally, not only rationally but emotionally. We will also learn how to expand and strategically chose from the toolkit of persuasive techniques available at each stage of a particular legal controversy. We will construct both verbal (textual and oral) and visual arguments about issues raised in actual litigation. The major projects include creating a visual display for use as demonstrative evidence at trial, and as a final assignment, a video for use in closing argument. This course is designed to work on many levels simultaneously. First (modifying McLuhan), we will explore how medium and message continuously interact and affect each other in legal communication and advocacy. Second, we will examine those interactions using sources drawn from many disciplines (consider at least the eight or so fields of scholarship reflected in the columns of the syllabus). Third, we will study particular source materials both as data for the arguments we will be making and as an illustration of visual rhetoric. Fourth, we will observe the constant interplay of the course subject matter and how we teach and learn it: for instance, what we learn about verbal rhetoric and visual intelligence should help us to engage in effective legal advocacy. We are confident that the practical task of creating persuasive verbal and visual arguments in an actual case (the main course projects) will anchor our wide-ranging inquiries and discussions. Limited enrollment.