Part I of this course examines patent law in general. Each of the 7 modules contains (a) a recorded lecture (roughly 90 minutes in length) that describes a major dimension of the patent system and (b) a set of readings that juxtapose the ways in which an important issue within that dimension is currently addressed in several jurisdictions.

Part II considers how patent law (and other aspects of the legal system) might be leveraged or modified in order to mitigate the ongoing global health crisis. The first of its five modules considers the causes and roots of that crisis. The remaining four modules examine a variety of ways in which we might mitigate it — and reduce the probability of future crises.

Course Introduction (Fisher)

Introductory lecture (Fisher) (12 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)

Part I: Patent Law

Module 101: An Overview of the Patent System

Module 102: Eligibility

Module 103: Utility and Disclosure

Module 104: Newness

Module 105: Claims

Module 106: Infringement

Module 107: Remedies

Part II: Responding to the Global Health Crisis

Module 201: The Global Health Crisis

Module 202: Improving Pharmaceutical Markets

Module 203: Improving Intellectual Property

Module 204: Alternative Incentive Systems

Module 205: Looking Forward

  • Lectures:
  • Reading:
    • Haochen Sun & Madhavi Sunder, “Intellectual Property, COVID-19, and the Next Pandemic: Diagnosing Problems, Developing Cures” (2022)
    • Matthew Kavanagh,  “Legal Paradigms and the Politics of Global COVID-19 Vaccine Access” (2022)
    • Sapna Kumar & Ana Santos Rutschman,  “New Licensing Avenues to Promote Public Health” (2022)