First Amendment and Intellectual Property Law

MC 2200 is designed to introduce students to First Amendment doctrines and issues concerning freedom of expression. Students will be exposed to a survey of major areas of media law; governmental regulation of political speech; defamation; privacy torts; news gathering rights, and intellectual property issues such as trademark, patent, copyright and fair use. This course can also be seen as an advanced First Amendment course concentrated on the interplay between "new" media, cutting-edge technologies, privacy, and other civil liberties. Students can expect to engage in a conversation about the ethical and political issues facing the digital media.