EAS 5070 Intellectual Property Strategy and Business Law for Engineers

Short Description

Announcing the first iPhone at Macworld 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously boasted: “And boy, have we patented it!” How, and to what extent, does intellectual property actually provide competitive advantage for innovative technology companies? What makes an IP asset strategically powerful? How do patents impact – and sometimes drive – major corporate decisions including M&A, venture funding and exits, and entry into new markets? Designed especially for engineering students with entrepreneurial goals, strong interest in technology innovation is expected, but there is no need for deep expertise in any particular technical area to excel in this course. Students who aspire to be technology developers, executives advisers and/or investors in innovation-driven industries will find this course valuable as well. The course is divided into three units: -In Unit 1, Patents and Protecting Valuable Innovations, we learn how to analyze the scope of protection provided by patents, and we examine closely how and when that form of protection translates to competitive advantage. We practice applying these concepts to critique and improve the patents that protect a company’s most important innovations. -In Unit 2, IP Leverage and the Corporate Playbook, we learn transaction basics, and study theory and examples of how IP leverage strategically informs a variety of corporate transactions. We will examine the “contextual” value of patents, for established companies as well as for start-ups, and will analyze the benefits and pitfalls of various IP strategies. -In Unit 3, Beyond Patents: The Data/AI Revolution, we confront important, recent legal changes reigning in the scope and power of patents. We analyze the business impact of these sea changes in light of the dramatic rise of AI-powered innovation, where non-patent IP assets such as data create new, distinctive opportunities and risks. Students who take and succeed in this course should expect to acquire insights and methods that they can utilize throughout their careers to contribute important value as stakeholders in innovative technology businesses, from emerging start-ups to industry leaders.

Portfolio Building Course

No

Content

Announcing the first iPhone at Macworld 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously boasted: “And boy, have we patented it!” How, and to what extent, does intellectual property actually provide competitive advantage for innovative technology companies? What makes an IP asset strategically powerful? How do patents impact – and sometimes drive – major corporate decisions including M&A, venture funding and exits, and entry into new markets?

Designed especially for engineering students with entrepreneurial goals, strong interest in technology innovation is expected, but there is no need for deep expertise in any particular technical area to excel in this course. Students who aspire to be technology developers, executives advisers and/or investors in innovation-driven industries will find this course valuable as well.

The course is divided into three units:

-In Unit 1, Patents and Protecting Valuable Innovations, we learn how to analyze the scope of protection provided by patents, and we examine closely how and when that form of protection translates to competitive advantage. We practice applying these concepts to critique and improve the patents that protect a company’s most important innovations.

-In Unit 2, IP Leverage and the Corporate Playbook, we learn transaction basics, and study theory and examples of how IP leverage strategically informs a variety of corporate transactions. We will examine the “contextual” value of patents, for established companies as well as for start-ups, and will analyze the benefits and pitfalls of various IP strategies.

-In Unit 3, Beyond Patents: The Data/AI Revolution, we confront important, recent legal changes reigning in the scope and power of patents. We analyze the business impact of these sea changes in light of the dramatic rise of AI-powered innovation, where non-patent IP assets such as data create new, distinctive opportunities and risks.

Students who take and succeed in this course should expect to acquire insights and methods that they can utilize throughout their careers to contribute important value as stakeholders in innovative technology businesses, from emerging start-ups to industry leaders.

Course Creators

• Steven S. Weiner