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Intellectual Property 2 - JURD7448

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: Land Laws (LAWS2383/JURD7283) OR Property, Equity & Trusts 2 (JURD7282/LAWS2382). Co-requisite: Resolving Civil Disputes (LAWS2371/JURD7271) OR Litigation 1 (JURD7211/LAWS2311). Excluded: LAWS3021, LAWS3057, JURD7321, and JURD7357.

Equivalent: JURD7357

Excluded: JURD7321

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course focuses on three aspects of Australian IP law. The first is the law of patents, which protects inventions and new innovations. It will cover the acquisition, ownership, exploitation and enforcement of patent rights and look at emerging issues such as the protection of biotechnology. The second is the action for breach of confidence, which protects of trade secrets and personal information. The third is the legal protection of business reputation, which includes the law of registered trade marks and related doctrines such as the tort of passing off. The requirements for registering marks, infringement and defences, and the elements of passing off will be canvassed, as will policy debates over the scope of legal protection.

Please be aware that students who take JURD7448 Intellectual Property 2 and/or JURD7446 Intellectual Property 1 will not be able to take JURD7321 Foundations of Intellectual Property Law and/or JURD7357 Advanced Intellectual Property Policy and Practice. Similarly, students who take Foundations of Intellectual Property Law and/or Advanced Intellectual Property Policy and Practice will not be able to take either Intellectual Property 1 or Intellectual Property 2.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

none.

Learning Outcomes

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of principles of patent and trade mark law and the law of breach of confidence;
Navigate and apply key patent, trade mark and breach of confidence texts, both statutory and judicial;
Identify patent, trade mark and breach of confidence issues and apply them to hypothetical fact scenarios;
Engage in critical analysis of key problems in patent, trade mark and breach of confidence;
Demonstrate effective written communication skills by articulating legal concepts clearly, persuasively and appropriately; and
Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner.

Main Topics

Introduction to IP
Introduction to patent law: history, context & justifications
Patentability requirements
Disclosure and claiming requirements
Ownership and exploitation
Infringement, exceptions and other uses without authorisation.
Patent law, plant breeder’s rights and biotechnology
Passing off and the protection of business reputation
Registered trade mark law: history, context & justifications
Requirements for trade mark registration
Maintaining rights
Assignment and licensing of trade marks
Infringement, defences and remedies
Related topics: geographical indications, domain names and ‘special events’ legislation

Assessment

Patent & Breach of Confidence Take Home Exam - 1,500 words (25%)
Patent & Trade Mark Research essay - 3,000 words (50%)
Trade mark & Passing Off Exam -1,500 words (25%)

Course Texts

Prescribed casebook

K Bowrey, M Handler and D Nicol, Australian Intellectual Property: Commentary, Law and Practice (Oxford University Press, 2011)

Recommended textbook

A Stewart, P Griffith and J Bannister Intellectual Property in Australia (4th ed LexisNexis, 2010)

Order from UNSW Bookshop

Resources

Refer to the course outline which will be provided by the lecturer at the beginning of the relevant semester.