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Intellectual Property 2 - LAWS3248

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

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.

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 LAWS3248 Intellectual Property 2 and/or LAWS3046 Intellectual Property 1 will not be able to take LAWS3021 Foundations of Intellectual Property Law and/or LAWS3057 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

Completion of LAWS2381 Property, Equity and Trusts 1 and LAWS2382 Property and Equity 2

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