Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

n/a

Co Requisite Comment

n/a

Aims

To acquire knowledge and understanding of intellectual property law, including its operation in the context of international trade.

Although the acquisition and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) is primarily a matter of domestic law, international conventions secure a measure of harmonisation. The advent of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) and its incorporation into the world trade regime has rendered IP one of the most controversial aspects of international law. WTO member states must adopt and enforce minimum standards of IPR and are subject to the powerful dispute settlement procedure of the WTO. Contentious areas include access to natural resources such as biodiversity, genetically modified organisms, and patenting of life forms, access to medicines, and protection for cultural expressions, software and databases, as well as access to information.

The module allows for study of the three core IPR - patents, copyright and trademarks along with associated or pseudo-IP rights such as trade secrecy, geographical indications and traditional knowledge - and how international developments affect the formation and application of domestic IP law. It will be of interest to students who wish to work in international aspects of IP law, including trade policy or WTO law, and to those wishing to enter private commercial work.

Outline Of Syllabus

The proposed outline of the syllabus is as follows, with the proviso that case studies will change each year dependent upon current issues, controversies and developments.


1) What is Intellectual Property? From Economics to Politics to Law

2) The history of international intellectual property

3) Copyright I: Scope, rights, exceptions

4) Copyright II: Contemporary issues in copyright law

5) Patents I: Scope, rights, exceptions

6) Patents II: Contemporary issues in patent law

7) Trademarks I: Scope, rights, exceptions

8) Trademarks II: Contemporary issues in trademark law

9) Associated rights: geographical indications of origin and trade secrecy

10) Current issue case studies: may include (but is not limited to) IP and sustainability, IP and Artificial Intelligence, IP and public health

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

At the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding
of:

- The history and origins of the ‘international’ IP system
- The justifications made for intellectual property systems;
- The main intellectual property Treaties and Organisations; their membership and inter-relations;
- Typical intellectual property rights such as copyright, patents and trade marks, including the balance struck between the rights of creators/owners and the interests of third parties;
- Specific examples of intellectual property problems in the context of international trade and the environment, such as biodiversity, morality and biotechnology, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, access to medicines, the protection of computer-related inventions, counterfeiting and privacy and digital copyright works.

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate:

Cognitive skills – having completed the module, students will be able to demonstrate these subject
specific skills:

- The ability to interpret and apply intellectual property theories and concepts
- The ability to interpret, analyse and apply treaties and other legal instruments relating to international intellectual property law
- The ability to interpret and combine intellectual property law concepts and regimes with international intellectual property rules
- The ability to identify issues in international intellectual property law for research and to retrieve accurate and relevant legal and other sources in primary and secondary form
- The ability to analyse and synthesise materials and sources of international intellectual property law with care and precision

Key transferable skills – having completed the module, students will be able to:

- Engage in the interpretation of policy documents such as WIPO and WTO reports, and to think of law not only in terms of doctrine, but in terms of real-world applications and effects;
- Draft policy guidelines/recommendations for reform, based on the identification of deficiencies in law or positions of specific member states of the WTO or WIPO;
- Demonstrate critical reasoning skills
- Demonstrate skills in collecting, handling, evaluating and applying information
- Demonstrate oral and written presentation skills, through active participation in seminars and preparation of written tasks
- Demonstrate the ability to carry out independent research and identify relevant primary and secondary legal materials

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Small group teaching has been determined to be the most effective mode of content delivery for PGT students, allowing for a blend of instructor-led discussion and student-led group work, which is preferable to relying predominantly on lectures for student contact. The four one-hour long online activities will provide students with opportunities to test their knowledge and understanding of course content through four activities – the first, interpreting and answering questions on the TRIPS Agreement, the second the interpretation of national legislation implementing TRIPS requirements, the third an academic article, and the fourth (which leads into the final assessment), which involves students reviewing and assessing a sample assignment essay.

The scheduled online Q&As allow for students to ‘drop in’ and ask questions concerning course content, and the MCQ activities provide students with instantaneous formative feedback on their understanding of substantive factual course content.

The teaching methods have been adapted for delivery in the post-COVID environment and are based on the presumption that in person lectures, seminars and in-person drop-in sessions will be possible but that this shall need to be supplemented by making alternative arrangements under ‘FLEX’ in case of the possibility of more limited possibilities for on Campus teaching).

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The formative assessment is provided in the form of a writing activity. Set at the beginning of semester and drawing from the content of the first four weeks of the module content, this activity both familiarises students with the expectations and conventions of writing at LLM level, as well as allowing for students to be assessed on their understanding of the theories and concepts serving as the basis for the IIP system. The feedback provided in this assessment will directly prepare students for their final assessed essay for the module.

The final summative component is a full 2,500 word assessed research essay. Students will be expected to answer one of five assigned questions that each covers a range of issues covered in the module, or alternatively, propose their own research essay that is subject to module leader approval. This assessed essay will test their ability to think critically and reflect upon both module content and the substance of the interdisciplinary course content, so that they are able to then apply their legal knowledge to questions concerning a number of complex real-world scenario situations, be they related to topics such as the interaction between copyright protection and access to cultural content, or trademarks and public health goals. Students will be expected to go beyond ‘traditional’ doctrinal assessment, engaging with a wider body of materials (as discussed throughout the course), to provide a more holistic understanding of the interactions between international relations, political economy and law in the protection of intellectual property.

General Notes

N/A