Questions of innovation, information policy and competition are critical to our society, especially in our current digital age. As technology infiltrates nearly every aspect of our lives, antitrust, intellectual property, and the laws regulating collection and use of personal information are becoming increasingly central to legal practice.
As described in more detail below, NYU Law offers a robust curriculum of basic and advanced courses that permits students to drill down into each of the three topics covered by this area of study. Students are also advised to broaden their horizons by choosing cross-cutting course offerings covering the intersections among these arenas and the implications of technology for other areas of law. Finally, all students should follow the law school’s general advice to invest in foundational courses of general applicability, such as corporations and evidence. Foundational courses in administrative law, federal courts, and free speech may be especially useful to students seeking careers in antitrust, intellectual property and information law.
Experiential Learning
The Antitrust, IP and Information Law area of study offers clinical, externship and simulation courses that students may use to fulfill the experiential learning courses that students may take to fulfill the experiential learning requirement. The Technology Law and Policy Clinic provides the opportunity to represent clients on public interest issues touching on these areas. The NY State Attorney General's Office - Economic Justice Division, Law Enforcement Externship Seminar provides an opportunity to intern in New York State’s Antitrust Bureau and work on current antitrust enforcement cases. Other recent experiential learning offerings have included:
- Patent Litigation Simulation
- Guarini Externship: Global Legal Practice in Digital Society
- Innovation Externship
Curricular Opportunities for 1Ls
NYU Law provides two types of curricular options for 1L students who are interested in exploring Antitrust, IP and Information Law.
1L Reading Groups
These informal small group discussions address a wide and changing array of topics, some of which will give you a taste of issues touching on this Area of Study. For example, recent offerings have included:
- Big Tech and Standard Oil
- Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning: Impact on Work and Workers
- Big Data's Promise and Perils
- Black Mirror and the Law
- IP in HBO’s “Silicon Valley”
- Crises of Democracy, Globalization, and Technological Change: Implications for Law and Lawyers
- Human Rights in the Digital Age
- Policing the Big City
Intellectual Property Survey for 1Ls
This elective course is open to students in the second semester of 1L year. Students who think they might be interested in specializing in intellectual property law can use this course to confirm their interest and to get a head start in the field. Those who are more interested in antitrust law or information law can also benefit from early exposure to the intellectual property law issues that often intersect with those areas.
Antitrust and Competition Policy
The courses in the antitrust and competition policy area are intended to provide students with the legal and economic framework for understanding how government policy can be used to control the business decisions of private enterprises.
Core Courses
The basic course in the area is Antitrust Law or Antitrust and Regulatory Alternatives I. Both courses focus on the US antitrust laws and their application to monopolization, mergers, cartel practices (such as price fixing), and distribution agreements. Students can also take a basic course in government economic regulation, Antitrust and Regulatory Alternatives II. These courses focus on the basic principles for deciding when and how to use government agency regulation rather than markets to control business behavior.
Deepening
For those who know they are interested in specializing in this area, we offer a number of advanced electives, many taught by members of our adjunct faculty, who have extensive antitrust practice experience. Such offerings include:
- Antitrust Issues in the Distribution of Goods and Services
- Sports Law
- Merger Enforcement and Litigation Seminar
Broadening
- International and Comparative Competition Law. In addition to one or both of the basic courses, students are urged to take at least one course or seminar that focuses on law in jurisdictions outside the United States. We generally offer seminars on international and comparative antitrust law and on competition law in developing countries, as well as courses on European Union and East Asian law (although these courses go beyond competition law).
- Economics. Economic theory is very important for understanding antitrust and competition policy and we offer a number of courses and seminars designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of various branches of economics. The main course for studying how economic theory is applied in antitrust is the Antitrust Law and Economics seminar. Students interested in this area should also consider courses in quantitative methods, behavioral economics, or law and economics. Each of these courses will provide useful tools for antitrust analysis.
- Intellectual Property and Innovation Policy. Intellectual property law, and innovation policy more generally, are increasingly important in today’s economy and involve issues that are closely related to antitrust law and competition policy. We therefore recommend taking at least one intellectual property course, either the survey course or a course in any one of the four basic areas of intellectual property law (copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets).
- Further Related Courses. NYU’s curriculum is rich in courses related to international trade and to the regulation of specific sectors of the economy (e.g., financial services and securities). Any of those courses would provide further understanding as to how business is regulated in today’s increasingly international economy.
Intellectual Property Law
Students interested in a career in intellectual property law should begin by laying a foundation of core courses, then fill out their course selection with a mixture of advanced courses selected to deepen knowledge about topics of particular interest and broaden exposure to adjacent or cross-cutting topics. Students should also plan to take at least one course (preferably more) that requires significant writing. Students may also choose to fulfill their experiential learning requirement
Core Courses
Most students focusing on intellectual property law should take three of the core courses below, which should be selected to provide an introduction to all of the primary branches of intellectual property law:
- Patent Law
- Copyright Law
- Trademark and False Advertising Law
- Trade Secret Law
- Survey of Intellectual Property
Students may select core courses according to their interests. (Note that the Survey of Intellectual Property course is not a prerequisite for any of the other core courses, nor does taking it preclude a student from taking any other courses.)
Deepening
To deepen their knowledge of particular aspects of intellectual property law, students may choose from courses and seminars such as:
- Innovation Policy Colloquium
- Advanced Copyright
- Advanced Trademark and Advertising Law
- Branding and the Law
- International Intellectual Property Law
- Patent and IP Licensing Seminar
- Theories of Intellectual Property Seminar
- Patent Litigation Simulation
- Technology Law and Policy Clinic
Broadening
Students should also take courses chosen to broaden their exposure both to issues that arise at the intersection of different forms of intellectual property and to issues that cut across IP and other legal concerns. This purpose can be served by various types of courses, including:
Context-Focused Courses
These courses teach students how various IP issues arise, sometimes alongside other sorts of legal concerns, within particular industries or contexts. Recent offerings of this sort include:
- Patent Law and the Life Sciences
- Art Law
- Advanced Topics in Art Law Seminar
- Entertainment Law Seminar
- Fashion Law and Business
- Intellectual Property Crimes Seminar
- Sports Law
- Topics in Museum Studies: Museums & the Law
- The Law of the Startup Seminar
- Mass Media Law
- Innovation Externship
Cross-Cutting Courses
- Intellectual Property and Globalization Seminar
- Intellectual Property and Human Rights Seminar
- Taxation of Intellectual Property
- Advanced Topics in IP and Information Law Seminar
Courses on Adjacent Topics
- Antitrust courses (see previous section)
- Information Law courses (see previous section)
- Free Speech or First Amendment Seminars
- Science and the Courts Seminar
- Trade law courses
- Health law courses
Information Law
Our information law curriculum introduces students to law and policy relevant to fast-moving developments in the collection and use of digital data, with an emphasis on personal information. Here again we recommend that students begin by laying a foundation of core courses, then fill out their course selection with a mixture of advanced courses selected to deepen knowledge about topics of particular interest and broaden exposure to adjacent or cross-cutting topics.
Core Courses
Students focusing on information law should take the following core courses:
- Information Privacy Law AND
- Law and Policy of Big Data, AI and Machine Learning OR Global Data Law
Deepening
To deepen their knowledge of particular aspects of information law, students may select from courses such as:
- Advanced Topics in Privacy Law Seminar
- Guarini Colloquium: Regulating Global Digital Corporations
- Internet Contracts Seminar
- Advanced Topics in IP and Information Law Seminar
- Business Torts: Defamation, Privacy, Products and Economic Harm
- Technology Law and Policy Clinic
Broadening
Students should also take courses chosen to broaden their exposure to issues that cut across information law and other legal concerns. This purpose can be served by various types of courses, including:
Context-Focused Courses
These courses teach students how various information law issues arise, sometimes alongside other sorts of legal concerns, within particular contexts. Recent offerings of this sort include:
- The Law of the Startup Seminar
- Mass Media Law
- Guarini Externship: Global Legal Practice in Digital Society
- Counterterrorism Intelligence Gathering, Prosecution, and Defense
- Cybersecurity Law and Technology Seminar
- Digital Security, Blockchains and the Future of Financial Services
Cross-Cutting Courses
- Human Rights, Civil Society and the Internet in China Seminar
- Advanced Topics in IP and Information Law Seminar
- Administrative Law vs. Tort: The Challenges of Modern Regulation Seminar
- Policing Colloquium: The Cutting Edge of Public Safety
Courses on Adjacent Topics.
- Antitrust courses (see previous section)
- Intellectual Property courses (see previous section)
- Free Speech or First Amendment Seminars
- Science and the Courts Seminar
- Criminal Procedure: Fourth and Fifth Amendments
- National Security Law and Policy Seminar
- Policing Colloquium: The Cutting Edge of Public Safety
- Regulating Work Beyond Employment