Chart of Assignments
Intellectual Property Survey, Fall 2023
Eric E. Johnson, OU Law

Updated as of: November 23, 2023.
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→ Jump ahead to: Week 16.

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Where and When:
Mondays & Tuesdays 1:30 - 2:45 p.m., Classroom 1
In the reading assignments below, "IPS" refers to Intellectual Property Surveyor 1.0 (Museum Edition, Version 1.0) . The suffix "-C" means "Volume: Copyright." "P" means the "Patent" volume. "S" is for the Trade Secret volume, and "M" is for the Trademark volume.


Day by Day:
Week No 1
MONDAY August 21 No 1
1. About the Course
No reading for this for today.
2. Blackletter Overview, Basic Framework and Initial Questions
No reading for this for today.
TUESDAY August 22 No 2
2. Blackletter Overview, Basic Framework and Initial Questions, continued
Read:
Copyright Nanotreatise
Patent Nanotreatise
Trademark Nanotreatise
Right of Publicity Nanotreatise
3. Theoretical Justifications
No reading for this for today.
Week No 2
MONDAY August 28 No 3
4. Copyright Law Orientation
Re-review Copyright Nanotreatise
5. Copyrightable Subject Matter: Fixation, Authorship, Originality, Creativity, and the Fact/Expression Dichotomy
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-1.
TUESDAY August 29 No 4
6. Copyrightable Subject Matter: Distinguishing Expression from Ideas, Methods, Systems, Etc.
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-2.
Week No 3
MONDAY September 4
Labor Day. No class today.
TUESDAY September 5 No 5
1. About the Course (continued)
If you haven't read the Syllabus [pdf] yet, please read it now.
7. Copyright Registration, Notice, Duration, and the Public Domain
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-3.
Week No 4
MONDAY September 11 No 6
8. Copyright Ownership (Works Made for Hire, Joint Authorship, Assignment)
Read IPS-C, Chapters C-4A, C-4B, and C-4C.
TUESDAY September 12 No 7
9. Copyright Infringement Analysis
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-5.
Week No 5
MONDAY September 18 No 8
9. Copyright Infringement Analysis (continued)
No additional reading.
10. Limits on Copyright Infringement (First Sale, Fair Use)
Read IPS-C, Chapters C-6A and C-6B.
TUESDAY September 19 No 9
11. Copyright and Music
No reading for this topic.
13. Patent Law Orientation
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-0.
In addition, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while you are working your way through Chapter P-0 and P-1. To find examples of patents, you can try searching online for "us patent NNNNNNN" – but replace "NNNNNNN" with a seven-digit number. Most numbers starting with a 7, 8 or 9 should get you a fairly recent patent. You can also try an eight-digit number starting with 10.
14. Patent Anatomy and Claims
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-1.
As stated just above, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while reading Chapter P-1.
Week No 6
MONDAY September 25 No 10
14. Patent Anatomy and Claims (continued)
Re-review IPS-P, Chapter P-1.
As stated above, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while reading Chapter P-1.
TUESDAY September 26 No 11
15. Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-2.
16. Patent Utility
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-3.
Week No 7
MONDAY October 2 No 12
16. Patent Utility (continued)
Re-review IPS-P, Chapter P-3.
17. Patent Novelty
Read the following portions of IPS-P, Chapter P-4: pp. 68-73; Titanium Metals on pp. 73-78; Lough on pp. 89-92.
TUESDAY October 3 No 13
18. Patent Nonobviousness
Read the following portions of IPS-P, Chapter P-5: pp. 97-98; Titanium Metals on pp. 110-111.
Week No 8
MONDAY October 9 No 14
17. Patent Novelty (continued)
No additional reading.
18. Patent Nonobviousness (continued)
Please look at and prepare analysis for the MagSafe problem shown last week on a slide, which can be found here [pdf].
19. Patent Disclosure
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-6.
20. Patent Infringement
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-7.
TUESDAY October 10 No 15
20. Patent Infringement (continued)
No additional reading.
21. Patents, Regulatory Exclusivities, and Pharmaceuticals
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-8.
Week No 9
MONDAY October 16 No 16
21. Patents, Regulatory Exclusivities, and Pharmaceuticals (continued)
No additional reading for today.
22. Design Patents
No reading for this topic.
23. Sui Generis Rights
No reading for this topic.
TUESDAY October 17 No 17
24. Trade Secret Orientation
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-0.
25. Trade Secret Status: The Basics
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-1.
Week No 10
MONDAY October 23 No 18
26.Trade Secret Status: Incoherence and Sprawl
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-2.
27. Trade Secret Misappropriation and Remedies
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-3.
TUESDAY October 24 No 19
When this day was originally posted, it was posted with the wrong topic names and numbers. Those have since been corrected. I apologize for the error.
29. Trademark Law Orientation
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-0 (Note: The nanotreatise part is a re-read from early-semester reading; you can skim.).
30.Trademark’s Fundamental Concepts
Read IPS-M, M-1.
31. Trademark Procedure and Registration
Read IPS-M, M-2.
[Note: We didn't get to this material at all on this day, so it's held over for next class.]
Week No 11
MONDAY October 30 No 20
30.Trademark’s Fundamental Concepts (continued)
No new reading. We'll finish up on this material from last class..
31. Trademark Procedure and Registration
Note: This was assigned for last Tuesday and we didn't get to it. My apologies. You might skim the chapter to re-familiarize yourself. The following is the reading:
Read IPS-M, M-2.
TUESDAY October 31 No 21
32. Trademark Use, Ownership, Priority
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-3.
Week No 12
MONDAY November 6 No 22
33. Trademark Distinctiveness for Word Marks
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-4.
TUESDAY November 7 No 23
34. Trademark Distinctiveness for Product Attributes; Trade Dress
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-5.
Week No 13
MONDAY November 13 No 24
34. Trademark Distinctiveness for Product Attributes; Trade Dress (continued)
No new reading.
35. Trademark and Functionality
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-6.
TUESDAY November 14 No 25
35. Trademark and Functionality (continued)
No new reading.
36. Trademark Infringement and Dilution
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-7, pp. 143-146.
Week No 14
MONDAY November 20 No 26
36. Trademark Infringement and Dilution (continued)
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-7, pp. 146 through end of chapter.
TUESDAY November 21 No 27
38. Right of Publicity
Re-read Right of Publicity Nanotreatise
Read Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox [pdf]
Week No 15
MONDAY November 27 No 28
Review
I recommend you look at and at least outline an answer to Hydroponic Warfare [pdf]. I'll discuss it in class.
If you have multiple-choice questions you'd like me to go over, bring your requests to class.
I also recommend, if you haven't already, to read the following:
Tip Sheet on Multiple-Choice Questions [.pdf]
Tip Sheet on Exam Writing [webpage]
Three Examples of Exam Writing [.pdf]
WUESDAY November 28
No IP class!
[N.B.: It's a Tuesday, but classes follow a Wednesday schedule.]

Topic by Topic:

PART I: Preliminaries
1. About the Course
Read the Syllabus [pdf]
2. Blackletter Overview, Basic Framework and Initial Questions
Read:
Copyright Nanotreatise
Patent Nanotreatise
Trademark Nanotreatise
Right of Publicity Nanotreatise
3. Theoretical Justifications
[TBD]
PART II: Expression
4. Copyright Law Orientation
Re-review Copyright Nanotreatise
5. Copyrightable Subject Matter: Fixation, Authorship, Originality, Creativity, and the Fact/Expression Dichotomy
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-1.
6. Copyrightable Subject Matter: Distinguishing Expression from Ideas, Methods, Systems, Etc.
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-2.
7. Copyright Registration, Notice, Duration, and the Public Domain
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-3.
8. Copyright Ownership (Works Made for Hire, Joint Authorship, Assignment)
Read IPS-C, Chapters C-4A, C-4B, and C-4C.
9. Copyright Infringement Analysis
Read IPS-C, Chapter C-5.
10. Limits on Copyright Infringement (First Sale, Fair Use)
Read IPS-C, Chapters C-6A and C-6B.
11. Copyright and Music
No reading for this topic.
PART III: Invention and Industry
Utility Patents
13. Patent Law Orientation
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-0.
In addition, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while you are working your way through Chapter P-0 and P-1. To find examples of patents, you can try searching online for "us patent NNNNNNN" – but replace "NNNNNNN" with a seven-digit number. Most numbers starting with a 7, 8 or 9 should get you a fairly recent patent. You can also try an eight-digit number starting with 10.
14. Patent Anatomy and Claims
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-1.
As stated just above, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while reading Chapter P-1.
13. Patent Law Orientation
Re-review IPS-P, Chapter P-0.
In addition, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while you are working your way through Chapter P-0 and P-1. To find examples of patents, you can try searching online for "us patent NNNNNNN" – but replace "NNNNNNN" with a seven-digit number. Most numbers starting with a 7, 8 or 9 should get you a fairly recent patent. You can also try an eight-digit number starting with 10.
14. Patent Anatomy and Claims
Re-review IPS-P, Chapter P-1.
As stated just above, I recommend you look up a patent to view as an example or model while reading Chapter P-1.
15. Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-2.
16. Patent Utility
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-3.
17. Patent Novelty
Read the following portions of IPS-P, Chapter P-4: pp. 68-73; Titanium Metals on pp. 73-78; Lough on pp. 89-92.
18. Patent Nonobviousness
Read the following portions of IPS-P, Chapter P-5: pp. 97-98; Titanium Metals on pp. 110-111.
Please look at and prepare analysis for the MagSafe problem shown on a slide, which can be found here [pdf].
19. Patent Disclosure
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-6.
20. Patent Infringement
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-7.
21. Patents, Regulatory Exclusivities, and Pharmaceuticals
Read IPS-P, Chapter P-8.
Additional Rights Regimes
22. Design Patents
No reading for this topic.
23. Sui Generis Rights
No reading for this topic.
Trade Secrets
24. Trade Secret Orientation
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-0.
25. Trade Secret Status: The Basics
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-1.
26.Trade Secret Status: Incoherence and Sprawl
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-2.
27. Trade Secret Misappropriation and Remedies
Read IPS-S, Chapter S-3.
[28. Trade Secret and [a special topic]
This topic is not covered this semester.]
PART IV: Identity and Origin
SUBPART: Trademark
29. Trademark Law Orientation
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-0 (Note: The nanotreatise part is a re-read from early-semester reading; you can skim.).
30.Trademark’s Fundamental Concepts
Read IPS-M, M-1.
31. Trademark Procedure and Registration
Read IPS-M, M-2.
32. Trademark Use, Ownership, Priority
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-3.
33. Trademark Distinctiveness for Word Marks
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-4.
34. Trademark Distinctiveness for Product Attributes; Trade Dress
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-5.
35. Trademark and Functionality
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-6.
36. Trademark Infringement and Dilution
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-7, pp. 143-146.
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-7, pp. 146 through end of chapter.
Read IPS-M, Chapter M-7, pp. 146 through end of chapter.
37. Trademark Law and Merchandizing
[This topic is not covered this semester.]
SUBPART: Right of Publicity
38. Right of Publicity
Re-read Right of Publicity Nanotreatise
Read Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox [pdf]
PART V: Miscellany & Marginalia
39. Licensing
No reading for this topic.
40.International IP
[This topic was not covered this semester.]
41. Claims Regarding Pitches and Idea Submissions
[This topic was not covered this semester.]
42. Federal Preemption
[This topic was not covered this semester.]
43. Hot News Misappropriation
No reading; slides only.


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