Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
278.1 sec. 001 - Trademark Law (Spring 2025)
Instructor: Sonia Katyal (view instructor's profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Th 3:35 PM - 6:15 PM
Location: Law 105
From January 16, 2025
To April 24, 2025
Course End: April 24, 2025
Class Number: 33016
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 31
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 85
As of: 11/28 04:05 AM
A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services, including within advertising. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
Exam Notes: (TH) Take-home examination
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Exam Length: 3.5 hours
Course Category: Intellectual Property and Technology Law
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Books:
Required Books are in blue
- Trademarks and Unfair Competition: Law and Policy (Aspen Casebook Series)
Graeme B. Dinwoodie and Mark D. Janis
Edition: 6th edition (July 14, 2022)
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
ISBN: 9781543847451
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: To Be Determined