LAWS 7840 Patent Law
This course covers the major doctrines and policies at work in modern patent law. While current law will be taught in detail (both the 1952 Act and the America Invents Act), the course will also focus on enough history and policy so that students are equipped to deal with, and make predictions about, the rapid changes in patent law that we have witnessed recently and that we will continue to see. The course also has a skills component. Students will learn to review prior art, analyze the validity and novelty of particular patents in the form of claim construction charts, and make oral arguments for summary judgment on issues of validity, novelty, and claim construction in front of patent practitioners in the field.
Course overview
- Department
- Law
- School
- LAW
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Graduate
- Offered
- Annually
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.49 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 4.49 / 5 · Very Good
- Terms evaluated
- 5
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Jerry Cohen | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 4–6 hrs/week | 7 of 8 |
| Spring 2025 | David Olson | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4–6 hrs/week | 7 of 8 |
| Fall 2023 | David Olson | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 of 10 |
| Fall 2022 | David Olson | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.8 | — | 13 of 18 |
| Spring 2022 | David Olson | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4–6 hrs/week | 14 of 26 |