This course investigates a new area of intellectual property studies: the role of public rights (now often referred to as 'commons') and the public domain in IP (particularly in copyright, but also in patent law and other areas of IP). Although copyright law and practice is usually seen as concerning private (proprietary) rights in works, public rights in intellectual property are of vital importance to both innovation and democracy in Australia. The course will cover theories of the roles of public rights and their place in existing legislation, a detailed examination of the growth of licensing to create open content (such as Creative Commons and AESN licences), the role of public rights and open content in new business models, and the technical and policy infrastructures being developed to expand the creation and use of these public rights. The course will examine the particular position of Australia's public domain in relation to a broader international commons, and the significance of commons to the national cultural estate.

(Students wishing to extend their study of this area can also apply to enrol in 4 uoc Research Thesis Elective so as to obtain a total of 8uoc.)