LAW 7064 - Intellectual Property Law (PG)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2014

This course aims, through a treatment of laws relating to patents, trademarks, confidential information, copyright and other regimes, to examine the protection provided by the law in regard to ideas, inventions, information and other forms of creative effort. The course also aims to explore how the law deals with a particular problem, and how in solving that problem the law must balance interests and protect investment while taking into account the public welfare and technological developments. The course will explore the inter-relationship of the different regimes in the commercialisation or exploitation of intellectual property. Upon completion of the course, students will have a basic grounding in the law of the area, its limitations, policies and objectives, including the basic features of the various systems of protection.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 7064
Course	Intellectual Property Law (PG)
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Intensive
Prerequisites	Non-Law students must complete LAW 7111 & LAW 7085 or equivalent
Assessment	participation, assignments/research paper and/or exam as determined at first seminar

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Christopher Symes

Name: Prof. Dr. Mary-Rose McGuire, M.Jur. (Göttingen)
email: mcguire@uni-mannheim.de
Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge and Understanding

The course is intended to provide a concise overview on Intellectual Property Law. The main focus is on the function of IP in an innovation-driven modern market economy. We will analyse the role of IP-law in the innovation cycle and examine selected issues in intellectual property that are currently posing particular challenges in the fields of patents, trademarks, confidential information and copyright. This requires knowledge of the great variety of intellectual property rights provided, a comparison of their advantages and disadvantages and access to the relevant legal sources. Further the course aims at how in solving these issues the law must balance interests and protect investment while taking into account the public welfare and technological developments.

2. Communication Skills

The continuing development of good inter-personal and communication skills is widely recognised as important for all graduates. This course specifically seeks to develop students’ abilities to discuss with and make a presentation to a group.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	1
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	1
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	2
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	1

Learning Resources

Required Resources

WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook: Policy, Law and Use
Available at: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/iprm/

Online Learning

Internet sources:
Here are a few sites that you might like to browse, there are many more:
University of Adelaide Law Library Intellectual Property page:
www.law.adelaide.edu.au/library/research/subject_guides/intellectual_property.html
IP Australia (Federal Government Body responsible for registration of Patents, Trade Marks & Designs):
www.ipaustralia.gov.au
World Intellectual Property Organisation (good source of IP treaty details, amongst other things):
www.wipo.org
Australian Copyright Council (good source of information on copyright issues)
www.copyright.org.au
Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department’s Intellectual Property Branch e-News on Copyright www.ag.gov.au/www/enewscopyrightHome.nsf
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course will examine the following topics:

• The Function of Intellectual Property law in the Innovation Cycle
• The International Legal Framework: WIPO, TRIPS, EU & national law
• Protecting Technical Innovation: Patent & Utility Model Law
• Protecting Brands and Reputation: Trade Mark & Design Law
• Preventing Copy & Paste: Copyright Law & Unfair Competition
• How to Profit from IP: Competitive Advantages & Contractual Exploitation
• IP Strategies: Areas of Overlap & Multiple Protection
• Case Studies (Group Exercise):

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (ie those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. Students in this course are expected to attend all classes throughout the course.

Classes in this course will be held Monday 5 May – Friday 9 May 2014 from 9.30 am – 4.30 pm. There will be 2 classes per day of 3 hours duration with a short break in the middle. Lunch break is 12.30 – 1.30

Learning Activities Summary

No information currently available.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Due	Weighting
Research essay	Monday 9 June 2014 2pm	50%
Part 2 essay	Monday 23 June 2014 2pm	50%

Assessment Related Requirements

1. Criteria that will be used to assess students’ work:
Essay

• level of insight and innovative thought

• depth of analysis and level of critical examination of the issues raised

• clarity of expression

• logical planning and sequence

• demonstrated understanding of relevant intellectual property issues, including but not limited to background policy matters and the balance between owner and user rights

• demonstrated understanding of relevant legal material eg: legislation, treaties, case law

• correct application of relevant material

• overall presentation, including correct grammar, spelling and punctuation

• use of resources in formulating the paper including proper acknowledgment and correct referencing

Take Home Exam

• Demonstrated ability to identify and critically analyse selected intellectual property issues

• Demonstrated understanding of and ability to apply and cite relevant case law, statutory material and secondary sources

• Clarity of expression, logical planning and overall presentation, including correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.

2. The essay must be written in prose style (using complete sentences) adhere to grammatical rules, and use correct spelling. It should be typed, using double spaced paragraphs, on one side of A4 paper.

3. The quality of English expression is considered to be an integral part of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted because of poor expression.
Assessment marks will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the lecturer-in-charge of any discrepancies

Assessment Detail

Research essay 50%
Essay of up to 4,000 words on a topic proposed by the student and approved by the course co-ordinator. Topics must be approved by 4.30pm 9 May 2014. Students will make a short presentation to the class explaining their chosen topic on Friday afternoon 9 May 2014.

Due Date: 2 pm on Monday 9 June 2014.

Take-home exam 50%
Short answer questions requiring a total of up to 4,000 words, released on 9 June 2014

Due Date: 2 pm on 16 June 2014.

Submission

1. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

2. All assignments must be submitted via Turnitin on MyUni. By submitting their assignment each student agrees and declares that:

all material in the assignment is their own work, except where there is clear acknowledgement and reference to the work of others

they have read the University's Policy on Academic Honesty, and

they give permission for their work to be reproduced and submitted to other academic staff for the purposes of assessment and to be copied, submitted and retained in a form suitable for electronic checking of plagiarism.

3. A penalty of 5% will apply for each day or part-day that an assignment is overdue. No extensions will be granted in relation to the take-home exam, given the nature of the assessment.

4. A penalty of 5% will apply for every 10% (or part thereof) by which assignments exceed the maximum word length.

5. Students must not submit work for an assignment that has previously been submitted for this course or any other course without prior approval from the course co-ordinator.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator