Professor Timothy K.

Armstrong Fall 2014

Office: Room 418
Telephone: 556-0171 timothy.armstrong@uc.edu

International Intellectual Property Law

Summary. This advanced doctrinal course will consider the global aspects of protecting all the human cre-
ations that fall under the general rubric of intellectual propertyfrom creative or expressive works, to useful
inventions, to corporate brands and confidential information; as well as some topics that students may be sur-
prised to discover other nations regard as a form of IP, such as terms identifying the geographical origin of goods.
The perspective is both international and comparativethat is, we will study both the internal intellectual
property systems of foreign nations (although not in great depth) as well as the external regime that governs
interactions between nations in the intellectual property domain.
Students have likely already come to appreciate, during their prior study of intellectual property law, the roles
that powerful and self-interested private actors play in the formulation and enforcement of intellectual prop-
erty rules. The international perspective adds complexity to this picture by introducing new actorsincluding
sovereign governments and international organizationsthat may have very different opinions and institu-
tional interests regarding both the substantive legal rules of intellectual property law and the overarching prin-
ciples those rules are meant to foster. The uses (and misuses) of intellectual property law as a tool to advance
the economic interests of one nation or group of nations vis--vis other nations interests will be considered in
some depth, as will the effects of the international intellectual property regime on other pressing international
concerns such as global health and the unique needs of developing nations.
Prerequisite: Students are required to have taken either Introduction to Intellectual Property Law, or else two
of the three substantive doctrinal courses in intellectual property (Copyright Law, Patent Law, and Trademarks
and Unfair Competition). Contemporaneous registration for the prerequisite courses is acceptable.
Textbook and Course Materials.

Required Text: Abbott, Cottier & Gurry, International Intellectual Property in an Integrated World Econ-
omy (2d ed. 2011). All page references to the assigned readings on the attached syllabus are to this case-
book.
Optional, But Strongly Recommended: Kieff & Nack, International, United States and European Intel-
lectual Property: Selected Source Material (20102011 edition, or later).
I may elect to distribute additional course materials during class or online. You will receive any such read-
ings at least one class meeting in advance of our discussion.

Grading. Your course grade will be based on two components. This course does not include a final examination.

Paper: 75%. Each student will write a 1015 page paper on a topic of his or her choosing. A list of possi-
ble paper topics will be distributed during the first class meeting. You are free, subject to the professors
approval, to select a topic not on the list. Additional information about the paper requirement will be
forthcoming during class. In the meantime, please note the following interim due dates, which are also
reflected on the attached course schedule and syllabus:
Your preliminary topic selection is due by the end of class on September 3.
A one-page outline of your paper is due by the end of class on September 24.
Each student will deliver a short oral presentation of his or her paper in class on November 17.
Final papers are due by the end of class on December 1.
Course Participation: 25%. Your course participation grade includes in-class participation as well as your
in-class paper presentation on November 17.

Office Hours. Office hours will be held Wednesdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., or by appointment.

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 Course Schedule and Syllabus
Meeting Date Assignment Notes
1 08/25/2014 pp. 112 Nonexclusive list of possible paper topics distributed
2 08/27/2015 pp. 1235
Holiday: 09/01/2014
3 09/03/2014 pp. 3564 DUE: statement of proposed paper topic
4 09/08/2014 pp. 6489
5 09/10/2014 pp. 90107
6 09/15/2014 pp. 107141
7 09/17/2014 pp. 141168
8 09/22/2014 pp. 168195
9 09/24/2014 pp. 195239 DUE: one-page paper outline
10 09/29/2014 pp. 239264
11 10/01/2014 pp. 264290 Also skim: www.epo.org/law-practice/unitary/faq.html
12 10/06/2014 pp. 290316
13 10/08/2014 pp. 317340
Fall Break: 10/13/201410/17/2014
14 10/20/2014 pp. 340364, 385394
15 10/22/2014 pp. 394426
16 10/27/2014 pp. 426456
17 10/29/2014 pp. 456486
18 11/03/2014 pp. 486505, 510522
19 11/05/2014 pp. 522535, 544559
20 11/10/2014 pp. 568574, 580590, 599602 Handout: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons
21 11/12/2014 pp. 609622, 633641
22 11/17/2014 none DUE: in-class student presentations
23 11/19/2014 pp. 643670, 677679
24 11/24/2014 pp. 685693, 709713, 717723
25 11/26/2014 pp. 724749
26 12/01/2014 pp. 749752, 755765, 770783 DUE: final paper