IP Law Strategy for Tech: Patents, Copyright & Trade Secrets

IP Law Strategy for Tech: Patents, Copyright & Trade Secrets

This course is part of Intellectual Property Law and Emerging Technologies Specialization

Instructor: Elizabeth Rothman

What you'll learn

Assess whether an innovation is patentable and read patent claims, including eligibility issues for software, AI, and biotech.
Explain what copyright protects, how fair use applies, and who owns AI-generated content.
Choose between patents and trade secrets, build a trade secret program, and combine IP types into a layered protection strategy.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Generative AI

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

15 assignments

Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Intellectual Property Law and Emerging Technologies Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 2 modules in this course

This course gives business professionals a practical understanding of how to protect technology innovations with patents, copyright, and trade secrets. You will learn what makes an invention patentable, how eligibility rules affect software, AI, and biotech, and how to choose between patent and trade secret protection. You will also explore the limits of copyright, who owns AI-generated content, how to run a trade secret program, and how to combine multiple forms of IP into a layered strategy. Throughout, you will build the knowledge to work effectively with legal counsel and make informed IP decisions for your company.

You will learn the core requirements an invention must meet to be patentable, including novelty, non-obviousness, utility, enablement, and written description, and how to read and evaluate patent claims. You will also learn how patent eligibility rules affect software, AI, and biotech innovations, how to decide between patent and trade secret protection, and how the patent filing process works from invention disclosure through examination and maintenance.

What's included

10 videos1 reading9 assignments

10 videosTotal 54 minutes

Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Novelty)5 minutes
Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Non-Obviousness)5 minutes
Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Utility)6 minutes
Patent Claims6 minutes
Patent Eligibility 9 minutes
Software and AI Eligibility Challenges 6 minutes
Biotech and Patent Eligibility5 minutes
Patent vs. Trade Secret for Your Innovation6 minutes
Patent Process and Costs5 minutes
A Message on Professional Development Pathways1 minute

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Pathways to Expand Your Legal Credentials10 minutes

9 assignmentsTotal 270 minutes

Knowledge Check: Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Novelty)30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Non-Obviousness)30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent Eligibility for Emerging Technologies (Utility)30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent Claims30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent Eligibility 30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Software and AI Eligibility Challenges 30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Biotech and Patent Eligibility30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent vs. Trade Secret for Your Innovation30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Patent Process and Costs30 minutes

You will learn what copyright protects in technology products, where its limits lie (including the idea-expression distinction, the merger doctrine, and fair use), and who owns content generated by AI tools. You will also learn how to build a trade secret protection program, respond to a suspected breach, and combine patents, trade secrets, copyright, and trademarks into a layered strategy for protecting a technology product.