Intellectual Property

All classes will be interactive and students are offered the opportunity to pursue inquiry-based learning. Students will work through electronic materials and attend a two-hour lecture discussing reform initiatives, international comparisons and recent cases. There will also be a policy-based seminar each week.

The course provides an overview of intellectual property law. It considers the main aspects of Copyright Law, Designs Law, Passing Off, Trade Mark Law, Confidential Information, Patent Law and Plant Breeders' Rights. It concentrates on the relationship between the different forms of Intellectual Property and the process of reform to provide students with an understanding of the underlying principles behind such forms of protection. The course also explores a number of key policy themes - including the globalisation of trade; the formation of the public domain and the Creative Commons; the rise of information technology; the scientific revolutions in agriculture, medicine and biotechnology; the development of personality rights and privacy rights; the promotion of clean technologies to address the effects of climate change and global warming; and the protection of traditional knowledge and culture.

A participant who has successfully completed this course should:

• Have an understanding of the fundamental legal principles relating to copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and passing off and confidential information
• Be able to identify, apply and assess issues relating to each of these areas of intellectual property
• Understand the legal and practical requirements to ensure that intellectual property rights remain valid and enforceable
• Be able to demonstrate a capacity to identify, apply and assess ownership rights and marketing protection under intellectual property law as applicable to information, ideas, new products and product marketing
• Understand the issues relating to the intellectual property protection of: indigenous knowledge or culture, computer software and material distributed on the internet, biotechnology and international trade.
• Understand the various mechanisms used in managing and exploiting intellectual property rights, including licensing, valuation and assignment.

The proposed scheme of assessment for this course will involve three compulsory and non-redeemable components:

• Seminar presentation - 8-11 minutes presentation plus 1000 word note (value 20 per cent)
• Research essay - 2,000-2,500 word essay (value 40 per cent)
• Examination - 1 hour examination (3 questions) (value 40 per cent).

This course will involve weekly two-hour lectures, and one-hour seminars over the period of a semester. Students are expected to devote approximately ten hours overall per week to this course.

McKeough, J., Bowrey, K. and P. Griffith, Intellectual Property: Commentary and Materials (4th ed). Sydney: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007, pp. 772 or Davison, M., Monotti, A, and L. Wiseman, Australian Intellectual Property Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 625.

It is also essential that students have access to Australian intellectual property legislation and international treaties. These Acts may be downloaded from www.comlaw.gov.au/ or www.austlii.edu.au/ or may be found in the Butterworths Intellectual Property Collection 2009. Sydney: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2009.

The preliminary reading required for this course will be available from the course home page at least one week prior to the commencement of the course.