LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 115-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our rigorous and interdisciplinary curriculum, our invaluable experiential learning opportunities, and the breadth and depth of our specialized areas of concentration and certificate offerings.
- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
Course Descriptions
- DEGREES
- CERTIFICATES
- + AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
- ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- BUSINESS LAW
- MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND TECHNOLOGY LAW
- PUBLIC INTEREST LAW
- + EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
- UNDERGRADUATE COURSES AND PROGRAMS
- CORPORATE AND CUSTOM EDUCATION
- + NON-DEGREE PROGRAMS
- ACADEMIC CALENDAR
- COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
- BAR ADMISSIONS
Patent Law (Fall 2019)
- Course Number: LAW-810
- Class Number: 03562
- Instructor: Roman Melnik
Course Description
Course Description
This course provides a rigorous and thorough introduction to substantive and procedural patent law for US law students and foreign attorneys who have a serious professional interest in practicing in the areas of patent litigation and/or patent prosecution in a law firm or in-house environment. Material is covered in depth, with the goal of imparting practical skills so that students can hit the ground running when (re)starting work. There is a strong emphasis on learning and applying black-letter law.
The topics to be covered include claim formats, indefiniteness of patent claims, the written description and enablement requirements, invalidity based on anticipation, the pre-AIA and AIA rules for what is and is not prior art, invalidity based on statutory bar, invalidity based on obviousness, claims and claim interpretation, literal infringement, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, indirect and derivative infringement, unenforceability, and post-grant proceedings.
Required reading assignments are from a hornbook rather than a casebook.
The course may be taken for 3 or 4 units. Enrolling for 4 units is strongly recommended. Students who enroll for the extra unit will be required to turn in their answers to the (almost) weekly problem sets in advance of the class session during which they are discussed
There are no formal course prerequisites.
No separate points will be awarded for class participation. There will be an open book in-house final examination, which will be at least partially, and will probably be entirely, multiple choice in format. Students are allowed to use laptops with Examplify on the final exam. Students may elect CR/D/F grading if they wish.
Course Details
- Unit Value: 4
- Grading Options: Numerical or CR/D/F
- Exam: In-class exam
- Writing Requirement: No
- Skills/Experiential Unit Requirement: No
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