Intellectual Property, Innovation, and the Future: Toward a Better Model for Educating Leaders in Intellectual Property Law

Abstract

Intellectual property sits at the center of today’s global information economy. Today, producers and users of intellectual property come from both developed and developing nations. Intellectual property matters as much to China and India as it does to Germany and the United States. This reality has driven a monumental demand for lawyers who can make and implement intellectual property law - that is to say, the new leaders in intellectual property law. Indeed, the demand for intellectual property law-trained lawyers triggered a “big bang” in the creation of advanced intellectual property law programs at American law schools. The new leaders in intellectual property law from around the globe now meet and learn together in these advanced intellectual property law programs. This article describes the “big bang” in advanced intellectual property law programs and the nature of the academic programs that have evolved in its aftermath. The article argues that by delivering on many of the curricular reforms proposed by the Carnegie Report on Educating Lawyers, advanced intellectual property law programs can better educate these new leaders, and the article presents a blueprint for doing so. The article concludes that effective legal education plays a critical role in the productive and just use of intellectual property now and in the future.

Keywords: LL.M., legal education, intellectual property, Carnegie Report, masters, curriculum