We are currently developing an Intellectual Property Law (IPL) module that will be available for delivery from the summer of 2009.

You could do one module this summer and complete the second module next summer, so if you are particularly interested in IPL you could do Company Law or the Legal Analysis and Research module in 2008 and IPL in 2009.

IPL covers a wide area of law from patents to trade marks and copyright to passing off. It is a mix of:

• common law
• statute law
• European law
• international treaties

These rights arise from the products of human endeavour and commercial reputation. They give rise to property rights which are monopolistic in effect.

This module will draw these disparate rights together and put them in a commercial context. The client base will range from musicians and inventors to multi-nationals and their branding strategies. There is a continual tension with economic and social perspectives such as monopolies, competition law and the rights of the majority to make use of works in the public domain.

IPL is a key area of study if you wish to pursue either a general commercial career or a more specific career focused on intellectual property. It is an area of law that affects many commercial transactions as IPL rights are often of substantial value to the client. The use/protection of intellectual property rights are a day-to-day consideration for most businesses.

Furthermore, if you want to establish yourself in a specialist area like entertainment or media law, information technology law, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and environmental compliance you should strongly consider the IPL module.

Part one: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

• introduces the structure of the module
• discusses the theoretical underpinnings of IPL and the interrelation of rights

• highlights the EU and global scope of the regulatory framework
• explores contemporary issues in IP law
• patents – software and biotechnology
• marks – cyber disputes, merchandising and personal rights
• competition law and IPL

Part two: Copyright

• development and aims of copyright and contemporary issues
• subsistence of copyright, originality and ownership
• multi-layered copyrights in works
• moral rights
• copyright disputes – infringement, defences and remedies
• problem areas; parodies, digitisation and creative commons
• commercial exploitation of copyright; assignment, licensing, collecting societies

Part three: Design rights

• introduction to design rights and the four routes to protection
• registered design and the requirements for registration
• unregistered design and analogy to copyright
• infringement, defences
• commercial considerations in design rights

Part four: Registered trade marks

• what is a registered mark?
• commercial importance of marks and branding
• requirements for registration and grounds for refusal of registration
• infringement of a registered mark and defences
• international systems of registration
• commercial use of trade marks and branding strategies

Part five: Passing off

• relation to registered marks
• the classic trinity; goodwill, misrepresentation and damage
• defences
• contemporary issues; merchandising, brand management

Part six: Breach of confidence and personal secrecy

• introduction: what is it and what type of information/right is protected?
• modern law: requirements from Coco v Clark
• “quality of confidence”
• “circumstances importing an obligation of confidence”
• “unauthorised use”
• modern developments: influence of Human Rights Act – widening into law of privacy
• commercial context: who needs to protect confidential information and why? Inventors, business secrets, know-how, protection from ex-employees/competitors etc.

Part seven: Patents

• what is a patent and what does it protect?
• justification for patents and the monopoly granted
• focus on pharmaceutical and IT industries
• substantive criteria of patentability
• what is an invention? novelty and the inventive step
• ownership of patents
• infringement of a patent claim and defences

The IPL syllabus comprises six parts and will be delivered using a combination of live and online lectures, online tutorials, face-to-face and online seminars, reading materials and multiple choice tests. 

Assessment will be similar to the Company Law module. This will be confirmed here as soon as the information is available.

The IPL module will be available for delivery from the summer of 2009.