Program and Curriculum

Master of Laws in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (LL.M.)

The Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Intellectual Property and Technology Law is a one-year graduate degree program that responds to the demand for knowledgeable and skilled intellectual property professionals who have already earned a basic law degree. The Intellectual Property and Technology Law curriculum allows students to study introductory and advanced intellectual property law and to scrutinize the politics affecting those areas of the law under the guidance of leading scholars in the field. Students also participate in practical skills courses taught in small groups by teams of experienced intellectual property lawyers. In order to be admitted to this program, students must either have graduated from an accredited U.S. law school or have an undergraduate law degree from a foreign institution of higher education or the equivalent thereof thereof in government experience and training in intellectual property law.

Degree Requirements

To earn the Intellectual Property and Technology Law LL.M. degree, a student must successfully complete 24 credit hours of courses from the IP/TL curriculum, including at least one seminar in which a research paper is required. The seminar requirement serves in lieu of a thesis requirement. Students may also earn up to 6 credit hours from related courses; in addition to law courses, these might include courses in microbiology or in information technology.

Admission Criteria

Students must either have graduated from an accredited U.S. law school or have an undergraduate law degree or its equivalent from a foreign institution of higher education. Students holding an LL.B. from a non U.S. law school are required to take a two semester course: Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Methods. Students for whom English is not a native language are also required to have a score of at least 600 on the TOEFL exam.

Internships

IP/TL LL.M.s are encouraged to apply for unpaid internships either during their academic program or the summer after the program. Donna Frazier Schmitt, Senior Trademark Counsel at Energizer, offers students an in-house experience prosecuting and protecting trademarks in a global portfolio. Lawrence Evans, Partner, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, offers students research and writing experience in a large law firm. Practical experience extends the theoretical classroom knowledge gained through the IP LL.M. course work.