LLM in Intellectual Property

The Master of Laws in Intellectual Property offers concentrations in U.S. intellectual property law and policy and in international and comparative intellectual property law and policy.  This program enables graduate students from U.S. and foreign law schools to engage with the full range of legal and policy problems and conflicts that arise from domestic and international regulation of copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. The program has been specifically tailored to enable LLM students to take maximum advantage of the unique organizations and resources in Washington, DC and also through a summer program in Geneva Switzerland. 

LLM Degree Requirements

The LLM degree requires the completion of twenty-four credit hours (twenty-six for New York Bar Exam eligibility) with a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better. At least twelve credits must be taken from the approved intellectual property and information law courses, including at least one Foundational IP course (Copyright, Patent, Trademark, Trade Secrets, IP in Cyberspace). LLM candidates must elect either a Practical Skills Track or Research Track for their degree. Research candidates are required to take the IP Writing Seminar offered in the Fall of each year and complete a 30-page thesis on a topic of their choosing. Practical Skills candidates complete an externship and must take at least one writing seminar, which may include the IP Writing Seminar or, for foreign-trained lawyers from non-common law backgrounds, Legal Research & Writing (two credits; offered Fall or Spring).  LLM students may complete their degree requirements entirely by traditional classroom study or by classroom study combined with no more than six semester hours of approved externship or independent study credits. The twenty-four credits needed for the LLM degree can be completed in two semesters of full-time study. Part-time students generally complete the LLM degree in three or four semesters.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, students must complete the LLM degree within sixty months of matriculating in a given LLM program.