ENMA 6931:  Management Issues in Engineering and Technology

 

On-Line Syllabus and Course Materials – DRAFT - SUBJECT TO CHANGE

 


 

Fall 2101 Course Title:  Intellectual Property (IP) Procurement and Management

 

Credit Hours:  3 semester-credit hours

 

Schedule: 5:30 to 8:10 pm Thursday

 

Location:  Engineering – Room 119

 

Prerequisites, etc.: Graduate standing or senior with consent of ENMA Engineering Program Director

 

Primary Course Instructor:

            Attorney Christopher M. Scherer, Partner,

            Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP,

            100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1100,

            Phone: (414) 271-7590, chriss@andruslaw.com

            Office Hours: ?

 

            Guest Lecturers:

                        Peter T. Holsen, Partner, Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP

                        Aaron T. Olejniczak, Partner, Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP

                        M. Scott McBride, Ph.D., Partner, Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP

                        Joseph D. Kuborn, Partner, Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP

                        A. J. Gokcek, JD, LLM, Associate Director of IP Affairs and Compliance,

                                    Office of Technology Transfer, and Adjunct Professor of Engineering,

                                    Auburn University

                        Joseph T. Miotke, MioTek, LLC

                        Examiner Michael Astorino, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

 


 

I.       Course Content/Objectives

            a.         Course Summary and Objective:

The ENMA 6931 IP Procurement and Management course is focused on providing students with a broad and complete understanding of all of the intellectual property issues that may be encountered in an Engineering Management position.  This course will provide an emphasis on patent procurement and management, but will also touch on other types of intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.

 

            b.         Required or Recommended Books: None

 

II.      Class Communications:

            a.         E-mail will be the primary medium of communication with the class.

 

III.    Course Requirements and Evaluation

            a.         Course Requirements:

                        1.         Participation,

                        2.         In-class group mini-projects (3), one final group project, and

                        3.         Group presentations to the class

 

            b.         Due Dates:

Note the due date for each project given in the outline.  Late submissions will not be accepted nor will they be graded.  Turn in all project reports to the instructor at the end of the class.  To meet the deadlines, begin working on each team project well in advance of its due date.

 

            c.         Reports and Presentations:

            Late reports will not be graded.

 

            d.         Guidelines for all written reports and presentations:

No required format for the written reports.  Content and adherence to instructions are most important.

 

Presentations are for 7 minutes or less.  Hard copies of the slides must be submitted in an appendix to your report.

 

D2L discussion folders will be created for reports and presentations.

 

IP Management Implementation Plan Report due date – December 16, 2010

 

IV.    Schedule and Due Dates:

If you miss a class session, you are responsible for homework, class assignments, etc.  Late assignments will not be accepted or graded.

 

V.      Statement related to policies on class attendance and participation.

Students are expected to be present in the classroom and can be excused only with approved excuses.  Attendance is mandatory.  Students are permitted a maximum of two (2) absences.  All absences in excess of two (2) will result in a 2 point deduction from the course grade for the third and every subsequent absence.  Attendance will be taken at each class.

 

VI.    Grading:

          1.         Attendance: negative points for missing class after 2 missed classes (see above).

            2.         IP Management Plan: 70% (60% report – 10% presentation)

            3.         Mini-Projects: 10% each (8% report – 2% presentation)

                        Total: 100%

 


 

Preliminary Schedule (5:30-8:10 pm Thursday)

 

Date                                                           Topic                                              Instructor/Lecturer

 

Week 1            Creation and goals of the Course; description and discussion                           CMS

                        of mini-projects and final course project; IP overview and the

                        identification and characteristics of different types of IP

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Week 2            Overview of the patent process, including identification of bar                        CMS

                        dates, educating and managing engineering teams, disclosure

                        writing and firm generation

                        Assign Mini-Project 1

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Week 3            Patent and trademark searching and competitive monitoring                   JDK/CMS

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Week 4            Mini-project 1 Presentations and Reports Due                                          AJG/CMS

                        Patent and IP harvesting in general, including IP mapping,

                        implementation of a PEB, and incentivizing your engineers;

                        University perspective on some prior art searching, including

                        engineer vs. IP practitioner searching

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Week 5                                                                                                                                       CMS

                        Preparation of a patent application, including conducting efficient

                        and complete disclosure meetings, specification drafting, claim

                        drafting, and efficient application revision with design engineers

                        and interaction with IP practitioners

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Week 6            How to read a patent application draft from your patent attorney,          PTH/CMS

                        with considerations for accuracy, design arounds, alternative

                        embodiments, claim scope, etc.

                        Assign Mini-Project 2

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Week 7            Patent prosecution, with an emphasis on understanding and                     MA/CMS

                        providing comments to IP practitioners in response to USPTO

                        official Office Actions

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Week 8            Mini-Project 2 Presentations and Reports Due                                                  CMS

                        Creating and implementing a foreign filing strategy, including an

                        overview of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application process

                        and strategies for taking advantage of the PCT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 9            Portfolio management including patent licensing; competitive patent      PTH/CMS

                        analysis including how to read a competitor's patent to determine its

                        relevance to your product line; post issuance issues, e.g., maintenance

                        fees, marking (marking and rolls), document retention/purging (Part I)

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Week 10          Budget planning, management and cost reduction in IP                                   CMS

                        prosecution, including domestic and foreign patent prosecution

                        and trademark prosecution.

                        Assign Mini-Project 3

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Week 11          Patent litigation issues including initial claim review/infringement          ATO/CMS

                        analyses; engineering manager and engineering teams role in patent

                        litigation preparation and support

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Week 12          IP Monetization                                                                                            JM/CMS

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Week 13          Mini-Project 3 Presentations and Reports Due                                                  CMS

                        Trade secret protection, including implementing trade secret

                        guidelines; trademark and copyright overview.

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Week 14          IP communications with respect to suppliers, vendors, Universities,                CMS

                        and development partners including joint development agreements.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 15          Review of Course highlighting patent prosecution procurement                       CMS

                        and management.

                        Presentations of IP Management Implementation Plans

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Week 16          IP Management Implementation Plans Due                                                              

                        NO CLASS

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Mini-Project 1: Create a standard invention disclosure form.

 

Mini-Project 2: Conduct USPTO prior art search and report.

 

Mini-Project 3: Prepare a report for a patent practitioner to assist in responding to an Office Action.

 

 


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