Spring 2026
Class meeting: Monday and Wednesday 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Office hours: Monday 1:15-3:15 pm; Wednesday 9:15-10:15 am and 1:15-3:15 p.m.; or by appointment
Course Description
This course examines international protection of intellectual property. We will discuss international treaties, trade agreement provisions, and dispute resolution systems relating to copyright and neighboring rights, patents, trademarks, and geographical indications. The course will also cover acquisition and enforcement of intellectual property rights in foreign markets.
Required Materials
International Intellectual Property Law and Policy (3d ed. forthcoming 2026) by Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Shira Perlmutter, Graeme Austin, and Rochelle Dreyfuss and additional materials posted in the Files folder in Canvas or included in links below, including certain provisions of the Paris Convention, Berne Convention, TRIPS Agreement, and other treaties and trade agreements covering intellectual property law.
Reading Assignments
Overview and Introduction (Chapter 1)
1/12: (1) Pages 1-30 of Chapter 1 of the Dinwoodie coursebook and (2) the World Intellectual Property Organization’s webpage What is Intellectual Property?, https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/
International Law and Institutions (Chapter 2)
1/14: Pages 1-29 of Chapter 2
1/19: Martin Luther King Jr. holiday - no class
1/21: Pages 29-47
Trademark and Unfair Competition Law (Chapter 3)
1/26: Pages 1-25 of Chapter 3 (introduction, different priority rationales, territoriality in trademark law)
1/28: Pages 25-53 (territoriality in trademark law cont'd; trademark treaties) and Art. 4, 6, & 6quinquies of the Paris Convention
2/2: Pages 43-61, 80-93 (territoriality in trademark law cont'd; trademark treaties); Paris Conv. Art. 4, 6, & 6quinquies
2/4 - Kayla Jimenez Guest Lecture on the Madrid Protocol: Filing International Trademark Applications, https://www.wipo.int/en/web/madrid-system/how_to/file/index (review the Overview and The process sections; optional reading: How to file, Classification, and Fees & Payments on this website)
2/9: Pages 62-80, 93-108 (trademark treaties cont'd); Paris Conv. Art. 6bis, Article 16 of TRIPS
2/11: Pages 100-118, 124-138 (trademark treaties cont'd) [skip WIPO Joint Recommendation]; Paris Conv. Art. 10bis
2/16: Pages 138-178 (trademark treaties cont'd); skim TRIPS Art. 15-21
2/18: Pages 171-188 (trademark treaties cont'd); 215-227, 242-256, 285-286 (trademark laws in the European Union and other regions) [skips Section 3.06 Plain Packaging and certain topics in Section 3.07 EU Trademark Law]
2/23: Pages 21-64 of Lisa P. Ramsey, Trademarks and Free Speech: Conflicts and Resolutions (Chapter 1), available on SSRN and through USD's Cambridge Core subscription https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/trademarks-and-free-speech/D3E3ED6806DD91CD5ADFE705AA822C20; Optional reading: Introduction and Chapters 4-5 of the book.
Geographical Indications Law (Chapter 4)
2/25: Pages 1-34 of Chapter 4
3/1 at 9 pm: Essay answer to first practice exam due via email
3/2: Feta tasting; Review answer to first practice exam in class
Patent and Trade Secret Law (Chapter 5)
3/4: Pages 1-32 of Chapter 5 (background on patent protection, territoriality, overview of international agreements, patentable subject matter); skim Paris Convention Articles 2, 4, 4bis, 4ter, 4quater, 5; TRIPS Arts. 1-4, 7-8, 27-34
Optional reading: DLA Piper, Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court: https://www.dlapiper.com/en-us/insights/topics/unified-patent-court
3/9 and 3/11: Spring break - no class
3/16: Pages 66-77 and 90-107 (available flexibilities of TRIPS; impact of TRIPS obligations on developing and least developed countries) [skips sections on patenting living things and generic material; skips investor state dispute settlement]
3/18: Pages 102-139 (patents and public health cont'd; trade secrets; post-TRIPS developments)
3/23: Patent Law and Artificial Intelligence: (1) Thaler v. Vidal, 43 F.4th 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2022); (2) Congressional Research Service, Artificial Intelligence and Patent Law, Congress.gov (Jan. 12, 2026); (3) DABUS gets its first patent in South Africa under formalities examination, IP Watch Dog (July 29, 2021); (4) Alice Wang, Specialist Chapter: Navigating AI inventorship, patentability and disclosure requirements in China, Europe, and the United States, IAM Media (Aug. 18, 2025); (5) Gustavo Sartori, Guilherme Calazans, & Karina Felix, The Protection of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Inventions: New Brazilian PTO Guidelines, Daniel Law (Feb. 27, 2026); (6) Arti K. Rai, The Reliability Response to Patent Law’s AI Challenges, 59 UC Davis Law Review 97 (Nov. 2025) (the Introduction is required reading (pages 99-104); the remaining pages are optional reading)
3/25: Matt Bresnahan Guest Lecture on the Patent Cooperation Treaty: (1) Sadhana Chitale, Colm Lawler, & Scott Macfarlane, Understanding the Basics of Patenting, Nature Biotechnology (March 4, 2020)
(2) PCT – The International Patent System (review the sections on How to use the PTC system)
Copyright Law (Chapter 6)
3/30: Pages 1-24, 46-47, 56-61 of Chapter 6 (introduction, territoriality, origins of international copyright law, connecting factors, Berne's scope, national treatment, protected subject matter); Skim the Berne Convention and Articles 9-14 of TRIPS [skips sections 6.07 and 6.08, and parts of 6.09]
4/1: Pages 13-24, 46-47, 56-61, 69-70, 94-99 (material not covered on 3/30, rights protected) [skips parts of section 6.10; skips section 6.11]
4/6: USD holiday
4/8: Pages 103-135 (copyright exceptions and limitations)
4/13: Copyright Law and Artificial Intelligence - assignment will be added here no later than 4/8
Private International Law (Chapter 9)