Course Details

IP Licensing: Contracts & Strategies

Intellectual property (IP) law is commonly taught under two main areas: prosecution – the practice of obtaining IP rights, and litigation – legal disputes over the ownership, infringement and misappropriation of those IP rights and assets. There is, however, a third major area of IP law, one which is far more important to most business executives and legal practitioners: transactions. IP law broadly consists of patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and a handful of other doctrinal areas.  IP issues motivate some of the largest transactions, lawsuits and governmental policies today, and thus IP is a pivotal topic in today’s legal and business education.  IP transactions cover a broad range of business arrangements among IP holders and users including IP licensing, R&D, joint venture, distribution, OEM, agency, manufacturing, service and other agreements. Therefore, IP transactional knowledge is highly relevant to business executives, government agencies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations and international bodies. This course gives an overview of IP transactions, focusing on the licensing of IP from the standpoint of what a well-informed business executive should understand.  The course will cover the structure and function of license conveyances for multiple types of IP.  We will also explore common agreement terms and some variations that occur due to differences in industries, types of IP, and the goals of the licensors themselves.  By the conclusion of the course, students will understand the role of licensing IP in many business strategies.  They will be able to properly interpret various IP license clauses - understanding the essential clauses, their functions, and why they are necessary.  Further, students will be able to identify many common drafting errors in these essential clauses.

Catalog Number: INTPROP 970-0

Additional Course Information: MSL students only

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Course History

Spring 2025
Title: IP Licensing: Contracts & Strategies
Faculty: Carter-Johnson, Jeffrey Shealy (courses | profile)
Section: 1ON     Credits: 1.5
Capacity: 50     Actual: 5