Module SXL-3136:
Intellectual Property Law

Module Facts

Run by School of History, Law and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1

Organiser: Dr Wei Shi

Overall aims and purpose

The aim of this module is to enable students to state and apply the rules of English and EU intellectual property law accurately and relevantly. It will also enable students to make assessments of those laws and the scholarship pertaining thereto. Having studied this module, students will be able to compare and contrast English intellectual property law accurately and relevantly with the equivalent field of any other legal system with which the student is familiar. This module will also enable students to relate English and EU intellectual property law to the particular circumstances - political, social and cultural - in which it developed.

Course content

The course will consist of a historical overview of the development of intellectual property law in the UK, at European Union level and internationally. It will examine the law of copyright in relation to literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works as well as in broadcasts, films and sound recordings. It will also examine performers’ rights in their performances. It will also examine the law of trade secrets, patent law, the registration and protection of designs and trade marks and the common law tort of passing-off. In each of the areas, the scope of protection will be examined, the rights conferred on the holders of the rights, dealings in the rights and remedies, both civil and criminal, against infringers of rights

Assessment Criteria

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%) : An answer which, while predominantly correct in its presentation of material, contains a significant level of error and is therefore not entirely reliable.

good

B- to B+ (60-69%) : A comprehensive answer, containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in an argument which, while clear, logical and critical, leaves room for improvement in its construction and presentation. An answer which shows complete competence in the subject.

C- to C+

(50-59%) : An answer which, while always in the main accurate and correct, fails to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant material and is lacking in criticism. An answer which while reliable with regard to correctness is either not comprehensive or not entirely pertinent.

excellent

A- to A* (70%+) : An outstanding, possibly brilliant, answer, containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in a clear, logical, critical argument with little room for improvement. An answer which demonstrates a complete mastery of the subject.

Learning outcomes

  1. Describe and critically evaluate the principal characteristics and concepts of English and EU intellectual property law, including differences that exist between the four main components of intellectual property rights: patents, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs.

  2. Be aware of and analyse the three distinct levels of intellectual property governance, namely, domestic (UK), EU and Global (WTO, WIPO etc).

  3. Demonstrate critical skills in the analysis and evaluation on the extent to which the intellectual property regime at UK, EU and Global levels meet the needs of contemporary society.

  4. Critically undertake independent legal research in relation to elements of UK/EU/WTO intellectual property law to advance proposals for the reforms of intellectual property law at these levels.

  5. Critically evaluate how UK intellectual property law has been influenced by EU and Global intellectual property law.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
EXAM Final examination

Students will sit a two hour exam on topics taken from their studies across the semester.

Students will answer two questions; one essay format and one problem question format.

 60.00
ESSAY Written Essay

Students will complete a 3,000 word essay on topics taken from topics covered in the module.

 40.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Lecture

The module will be taught by means of 40 hours of lectures, 4 hours per week, taught over the course of one semester.

 40
Private study

The module requires students to undertake private study in order to prepare for lectures, the midterm essay and final examination.

Students will be expected to engage with a range of academic sources to demonstrate further research.

 160

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sentistevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

  • Develop the ability to interpret legal rules and employ techniques of legal reasoning competently and efficiently in order to offer a range of solutions and conclusions to actual or hypothetical complex legal problems, all supported by relevant academic literature, jurisprudence and legislative research. Such solutions will be clearly communicated and presented
  • Develop the ability to analyse complex legal issues, set against the background of the political, social, economic or cultural contexts in which they may arise
  • Develop those skills which are necessary for scholarship and research in legal subjects, namely the ability to identify relevant primary and secondary legal sources and to retrieve accurate legal information using paper and electronic sources

Resources

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/sxl-3136.html

Reading list

• Aplin, T. and Davis, J. (2017) Intellectual property law: text, cases, and materials. Third edition, Oxford University Press.

• Bainbridge, D. (2018) Intellectual Property, Pearson Education Limited

• Cornish, W. R. (2019) Intellectual property: patents, copyright, trade marks and allied rights. Sweet & Maxwell

• Drahos P. & J. Braithwaite (2002), Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy, Earthscan

• Groves, P. (2011) A dictionary of intellectual property law. Edward Elgar.

• Husovec, M. (2017) Injunctions against intermediaries in the European Union: accountable but not liable? Cambridge University Press

• Menescal A. K. (2005), Those Behind the TRIPS Agreement: The Influence of the ICC and the AIPPI on International Intellectual Property Decisions

• Norman, H. E. (2014) Intellectual property law. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press

• Waelde, C. et al. (2016) Contemporary intellectual property: law and policy. Fourth edition. Oxford University Press.

Courses including this module

Optional in courses: