Intellectual Property & Technology Law

Intellectual property is one of the fastest-growing legal specialties in the United States, and increasingly in the world. Notre Dame Law School’s Program of Study in Intellectual Property and Technology Law prepares students to practice in a wide variety of intellectual property-related fields. Our faculty teach basic and advanced courses in the core doctrines of intellectual property — patent, copyright, trademark and unfair competition—and related fields including design, cyberlaw, and antitrust.

Prominent practicing IP lawyers serve as adjunct professors, bringing their specialized expertise to the classroom and providing valuable mentoring and networking opportunities for students. And students can develop important practice skills through externships.

Please explore the sections below:

Foundational Intellectual Property Courses

The Intellectual Property curriculum is built upon three core courses: Patent, Copyright, and Trademarks and Unfair Competition. These semester-long classes are taught by full-time Notre Dame faculty members, typically every year, and they provide a comprehensive introduction to the various IP regimes. Students considering a career in IP are strongly encouraged to take all three.

A fourth foundational class, Intellectual Property Survey, is designed for students who are interested in exploring potential interest in IP or those who intend to develop a general commercial practice and desire some exposure to IP issues. The course provides a broad-based introduction to patents, copyright, and trademarks in a single semester. Students who have already taken one of the core IP courses are not eligible to take the Survey course, except in special circumstances by permission of the IP faculty.

Advanced Intellectual Property Courses

The Law School offers a number of advanced courses that build on the knowledge and skills developed in the foundational courses or introduce adjacent areas of technology law. Those courses include:

  • Trade Secrets and Unfair Practices (covering primarily trade secret and false advertising)
  • Cyberlaw
  • Cyber Crime Law
  • Design Law
  • Entertainment/IP Law
  • Information Privacy Law
  • Information Technology Law
  • Intellectual Property Licensing
  • International Intellectual Property
  • Licensing Transactions
  • Patent Drafting
  • Patent Litigation
  • PTO Proceedings Post AIA
  • Telecommunications Regulation Seminar
  • Trademark Prosecution

Related Courses

The Law School also offers a number of courses in related fields that are quite relevant to the practice of IP law, including:

  • Administrative Law
  • Antitrust
  • Behavioral Analysis of Law
  • Bioethics and the Law Seminar
  • Drug & Medical Device Law
  • International Art Law Seminar
  • International Business Transactions
  • Law & Economics Seminar
  • Law & The Entrepreneur
  • Remedies

Faculty

Patricia L. Bellia
William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Professor of Law

Randy J. Kozel
Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Diane and M.O. Miller II Research Professor of Law

Avishalom Tor
Professor of Law
Director, Research Program on Law and Market Behavior (ND LAMB)
Global Professor of Law, University of Haifa Faculty of Law

Stephen Yelderman
Professor of Law
Director, Program on Intellectual Property & Technology Law

Contact

For more information about this Program of Study in Intellectual Property and Technology Law, please contact Stephen Yelderman.