Student Handbook 2023/24 (Cert IP / Cert Trade Mark Law and Practice AND MSc Management of IP)

Modules - No selection is required as all modules are compulsory

 

Semester 1

 

IPLC134 Fundamentals of Law and Professional Ethics - Taught early

(Intensive over 1 week)

This module aims to give students general knowledge of the English legal system in order to understand sources of law, the effects on intellectual property and the interaction between intellectual property and other areas of law. Students will obtain knowledge of the legal system and legal language and the ability to apply this understanding to various legal questions. Students will also study the core elements and principles of professional ethics in relation to the field of intellectual property.

Students receive a pre-teaching study pack 1 month prior to the start of the programme.

 

Mode of Assessment: Multiple Choice Quiz (30%) and 2500 word essay (70%)

Credits: 15

 

 

IPLM200 Trade Mark Law Registration and Filing Strategy

Choice of trade mark filing strategy has the potential to create an ever larger market by promoting consumer recognition and goodwill. Moreover, a trade mark is also capable of representing the firm’s commitment to invest in socio-economic goals.

This Module will therefore examine the law relating to the registration of trade marks as it is applied in the United Kingdom and the European Union, including the procedures relating to national, EU and international registration of marks. The Module will also consider various filing strategies that traders may adopt when seeking to obtain trade mark protection in markets abroad. In so far as filing strategy relates to commercialisation, the Module will also examine the relationship between the registration of trade marks and their licensing.

 

Mode of Assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 30 Credits

 

IPLM202 Patent Law British and European Patent Law

The module covers fundamental substantive aspects of patent law in the UK and under the European Patent Convention, including conditions for protection and registration, infringement and defences. It will provide students with the foundations of UK patent law so as to equip them for the basics of patent practice in the UK. In addition, students will consider patent law and corporate strategy as well as practical and professional aspects, including drafting, claim interpretation, patent prosecution, ethics and corporate governance. Students will also gain a detailed and practical understanding of related areas of protection in the patent industries, including confidential information and trade secrets. The module also addresses aspects of specific sectors, including biotechnology, chemical industries and software industries. On successful completion of this module, you will be eligible to sit the CIPA/ITMA exemption papers towards your qualification as UK patent and trade mark attorneys.

 

Mode of assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 30 credits

 

Semester 2

IPLM131 Overview of Competition Law (non-credit bearing)

 

Innovation, considered necessary for economic growth, is often cited as a primary justification for the grant of intellectual property rights and the varying scope and periods of ‘monopoly’ under such grants. In competition law and classic and neoclassic economic theory, monopoly is often characterized by the lack of incentives to innovate new products. Also, as IP rights are typically national in scope and might be used to exclude or limit distribution of products or protected content into a country, a concern in the EU where national borders have been taken down to allow free movement of goods and services in the Single Market.  In light of these considerations, it is sometimes claimed, therefore, that there is a tension between competition law that might be viewed as ‘antimonopoly’ and intellectual property law that grants exclusive rights that might be viewed as monopolistic. This, however, may not be the case. Although competition law has, in some cases, restricted intellectual property rights, e.g., those that are exercised beyond their lawful scope, competition law and intellectual property law often have similar objectives, including to further consumer interest through a competitive marketplace offering innovative products and services. However, in some competition cases against companies engaged in innovation such as Microsoft, Google, Intel, Apple, etc., where the balance is set between applying competition principles and IP law principles is not always clear or uncontroversial.

While the European courts have sought to draw a distinction between the existence of IP rights and their exercise within the specific subject matter of the right that, in principle should not be affected by competition law, the distinction does not provide a safe harbour for IP rights. This is because the ECJ has also considered abusive practices that fall within the scope of the “specific subject matter” of the IP right in certain “exceptional circumstances”. The Court also gives a broad definition to the term “exercise”, thus keeping an important discretion as to the scope of the application of competition law. The course aims at exploring the relationship between competition law and intellectual property law

 

Mode of Assessment:

Credits: None

 

IPLM148 Intellectual Property in the United States

The course will introduce students to US IP law and will predominantly cover the protection of registered rights in the US such as patents and trade marks, but will also examine other important areas such as copyright law, design patents and publicity rights as well as aspects of IP licensing. The course will provide students with a basic understanding of the fundamental structures and principles applying in US law. It will also enhance the general perception of IP rights from a comparative perspective, and emphasis is placed therefore on those rules and principles that deviate from the law in the UK and the European Union. Please note that there will not be weekly lectures but that the course will be running as an intensive course over a period of one week.

 

Mode of Assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 15 Credits

 

 

IPLM201 Trade Mark Law Trade Mark Office Proceedings and Litigation

 

This module is designed to provide a thorough knowledge of the law governing:

(a) trade mark office proceedings (including, opposition and cancellation); and, (b) trade mark litigation in the UK. The module will examine substantive law as to claim construction; and, in the case of infringement, available defences and limitations to registered trade mark rights; both substantive and procedural aspects will be considered with respect to proceedings before the UKIPO and the EUIPO and; in the case of litigation, consideration of the law will include the remedies that might be sought, in particular preliminary injunctions.

 

Mode of assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 15 credits

 

IPLM203 Patents Practice and Procedure

 

The module covers:

• The procedural and practical aspects of patent law, including registration before the UK IPO and the EPO, opposition proceedings, and the main principles of patent protection and registration in other jurisdictions.
• Prosecution of patents and applications under the Patents Act 1977 and under the Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Prosecution of patent applications at the European Patent Office
• The anatomy of a patent
• Remedies and Expert Evidence (injunctions, damages, other remedies and expert evidence)
• US Patent Law (US substantive and procedural law in outline)
• Japanese Patent Law (procedure and law in outline)
• Supplementary Protection Certificates (patent term extension)
• Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
• German patent law (procedure and law in outline)

 

Mode of assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 15 credits

 

IPLM204 Designs and Copyright

The module covers the main elements of copyright and design law, including criteria for protection, subject matter, scope of rights, infringement, defences, moral rights and international and comparative perspectives.

 

Mode of assessment: 4 hours exam

Credits: 30 credits

 

 

Semester 3

IPLM205 Study Project Requirement

Study project acts as the dissertation element for this programme

 

Please see Appendix III: Dissertation/Study Project IPLM205

 

Module of Assessment:

Group Project 15000 words (75%)

Group Presentation 1 hour (15%)

Individual oral assessment 5-10 mins (10%)

Credits: 30