LAW 671 - Patent Infringement Investigations before the International Trade Commission

This pass/fail course offers a practical introduction to patent enforcement and defenses in proceedings before the International Trade Commission (ITC). This course will follow the procedure of an ITC investigation emphasizing the unique aspects of the ITC compared to district court litigation. Topics will include the ITC’s jurisdiction, organization of the ITC, including its commissioners, administrative law judges, and the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, developing the evidentiary record, the evidentiary hearing, post-hearing procedures, and subsequent proceedings. The course will consider some of the unique requirements of a proceeding before the ITC including the importation requirements, domestic industry, limited remedies, and strategies and procedures to enforce or overcome the ITC’s determination.

Students will gain familiarity with patent enforcement and remedies broadly, as well as specific familiarity with proceedings before the ITC. The course will emphasize the practical solutions to common issues and focus on ways an associate at a law firm can meaningfully contribute on a litigation team. This course will cover how key case milestones are accomplished in a practical manner, e.g., common stipulations between parties, working with expert witnesses, and marshalling critical evidence.

Prior successful completion of International IP Law, or Intellectual Property Survey, or Patent Law is recommended. Students taking this course are recommended to contemporaneously take or to have previously taken Business Associations. It is also suggested but not required that students take or have previously taken Securities Regulation. Students will be assessed on a written assignment due after the end of the course.