Intellectual Property Law

Faculty of Law

Intellectual Property Law

Full course description

This course covers the substantial legal aspects of industrial and intellectual property law with specific relevance for the Information Society as well as the management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). As such the economic rationale of IPRs is covered in respect of the creation and the regulation of markets in information. In order to get a full grasp of legal entitlements for creators in the information age, copyrights, database, patents and trade mark law will be juxtaposed with technological developments, such as multimedia, (open source) software, file sharing, domain name grabbing, and placed in the economic context of competition, management of IPRs and electronic commerce. Knowledge of the legal and economic rationale for the protection of intellectual and industrial creativity through acquisition of the fundamentals of intellectual and industrial property rights, (unfair) competition law, and management of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on an international, European, and national level. Among IPRs covered in the course are:

IP in the context of international trade and EU innovation (Section I);
trade marks (sections II and III);
patents (section IV);
copy- and neighbouring rights (section V);
designs (section VI); and
a mock trial on IP and public health (section VII).

Study of procedural matters concerning the subsistence, acquisition, application, registration, opposition, duration, surrender, revocation, invalidity, judicial review, and jurisdiction of all IPRs is required. In addition, an understanding of international and EC competition policy in cases of passing off and unfair practices, free movement of goods, and abuse of rights in light of the information society has to be acquired. Students are expected to acquire this knowledge through study of the structure of international organizations, treaties, EC Regulations & Directives, and literature. The course is offered over a period of seven weeks (sections I-VII), and is concluded by a written exam. The final grade is calculated based on the acquisition of EUIPO Online Certificates (Sections II&III, and Section VI), a collective brief and individual oral contribution to the mock trial and the individually written exam.

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

Understand and critically reflect upon EU intellectual property as an instrument for fostering industrial innovation and human creativity (Section I);
Appreciate and apply the basic treaties and principles relating to intellectual property, with a focus on the areas of copyright, trademarks, patents, and (unfair) competition, and explain their different rationales (Sections I-VII);
Become conversant with the substantive provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and the legal and policy implications of an intellectual property agreement within an international trade law system (Sections I and VII);
Explore current legal and policy issues concerning TRIPS under consideration in the WTO and other international forums, especially from the perspective of regional integration and developing economies (Sections I-VI);
Identify and articulate the current developments and issues that are at the centre of current discussions and negotiations for the further development or modification of the international intellectual property system, such as technology transfer and public health (Section I) and access to essential medicine; (Section VII) and Contemplate and articulate how the emergence of big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) calls for a re-think on the existing IP and regulatory framework, and what can be the best possible legal framework – both within the domestic and international multi-stakeholder environment – that can successfully digitally transition the global economy, and foster innovation and enhance public trust in AI (Section V and VI);
Have knowledge and insight of the EU regimes for trademarks, patents, copyright, and design, in particular of the aspects of acquisition of rights, scope of protection and infringement (Sections II-VI);
Have a firm grasp of the international institutions and actors in the field of intellectual property, and the multilevel engagement that they have from multilateral, regional, national and domestic perspectives (Sections I-VII);
Solve cases regarding all of the intellectual property rights listed above (Sections I-VII);
Orally argue a case concerning any of the intellectual property rights listed above (Section VII).

Intellectual Property Law