IP Homeroom

Professor Grimmelmann

University of Maryland

Spring 2015

Preliminary Tentative Syllabus

This is a weekly discussion group for current events in intellectual property, information, and technology law. Participating students read Bloomberg BNA newsletters and topical blogs, and discuss the week’s news. The topical coverage is broad, and includes any development in intellectual property, the Internet, telecommunications, privacy, free speech, or new technologies. Visitors are welcome to drop in as space permits; students taking the course for credit will be required to present recent cases and to complete several blogging exercises. Grading is on a credit/no credit basis.

Logistics

We meet every Thursday at noon in room 310. Bring your own lunch.

Readings

Stay current with the Bloomberg BNA Law Reports and come prepared to talk about what happened that week. To browse the Bloomberg BNA Law Reports, log in to Bloomberg Law, select the “Legal Analysis & News” tab, and then use the drop-down list on the left to find the Report you are interested in. To receive any of the Reports by email, click on the “Manage Email Notifications” button on the right, then click “Set Notification” for the Report you would like to receive.

Suggested Reports of interest include:

Some additional news sites:

And some blogs:

Many of these have strong points of view. Learning to separate the spin from the substance is part of the fun.

Assignments

Students participating for credit will be required to present cases or other developments. (How often will depend on the number of students enrolled.) There will also be several blogging assignments, which will provide practice in communicating legal information to the general public.

Grading

This ia a credit/no-credit course. Regular attendance, active participation, and completion of all blogging assignments are required to receive credit.

Contact

Office: Room 231
Phone: 410-706-7260
Email: jgrimmelmann at law.umaryland.edu

Email is the best way to reach me and will generally lead to the fastest response.

My spring 2015 office hours will be Tuesdays 1:00 to 3:00 PM, or by appointment.