Intellectual Property & the Digital Economy (LLM)

Course Descriptions

Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property
Course code: LAW5011
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Tom Guthrie

This course is designed to give students the opportunity to investigate and discuss contemporary issues in global intellectual property law, for example the impact of intellectual property regimes on developing countries, debates over the creation of new types of intellectual property and extension of existing ones, the interface between intellectual property law and developing technologies, and approaches to enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Recommended Reading –

• N. MacCormick, “On the Very Idea of Intellectual Property: an Essay According to the Institutional Theory of Law" (2002) Intellectual Property Quarterly 227-39 (2002)

Copyright in the Digital Environment
Course code: LAW5013
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Ronan Deazley

The principle aim of the course is to promote familiarity and understanding of Copyright Law issues relevant to the creation, dissemination, and use of cultural goods within the digital environment. The focus will be primarily on Copyright Law in the United Kingdom and Europe, however the course will also situate that domestic and European focus within an international context.

Recommended Reading –

• J. Litman, “The Copyright Revision Act of 2026” (2009) Marquette Intellectual Property Review 249-62

E-Commerce, Rights Management and Information
Course code: LAW5131
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Ronan Deazley and Mrs Pauline McBride

The principal aim of the course is to develop an understanding of key commercial legal issues which have arisen as a result of the rise of the digital economy and the growth of the internet as the medium for commerce, communication and the dissemination of digital content. Key aspects considered will include the law relating to ecommerce, rights management, and information management. The focus will be primarily on law and regulation within the EU but consideration will be given to these issues in a broader comparative context with particular attention given to approaches adopted in the US. In the global environment of digital commerce, the combination of regulatory and management perspectives in this course will be attractive to students and employers.

Recommended Reading –

• Lawrence Lessig Code Version 2.0 (New York: Basic Books, 2006) 169-199

EU Trade Law
Course code: LAW5080
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Rosa Greaves

The course examines the free movement of goods rules of the European Union as they are applied to manufacturers operating in the Europe Internal Market/European Economic Area, irrespective of where they are established or incorporated. The course will cover the following topics: the scope, nature and structure of the European internal market; fiscal and quantitative obstacles to goods moving from one State to another including the impact of the EU rules on goods protected by intellectual property rights; specific issues such as technical/safety/product standards, the pharmaceutical industry and public procurement rules will be addressed; EU trade agreements, including the relationship between the EU and the WTO Agreement will also be considered.

Intellectual Property and the Market
Course code: LAW5034
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Andreas Rahmatian

The field of Intellectual Property Law is of growing contemporary importance. As well as dealing with the protection of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, it is also concerned with the commercially important protection of rights in inventions, trade marks and computer programs. Intellectual Property Law and the Market aims to provide an introduction to substantive Intellectual Property Law in a European and international context and to give an overview of the interaction between intellectual property rights and markets. In particular, the effect of the EU free movement of goods rules and the EU Competition Law regime on the exercise of Intellectual Property Law will be examined.

Recommended Reading –

• Helen Norman, Intellectual Property Law, Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 3-27

International and Comparative Intellectual Property Law
Course code: LAW5132
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Andreas Rahmatian

The purpose of this course is the exploration of the international dimension of Intellectual Property Law as it manifests itself in the intellectual property treaties. With regard to copyright, the different protection philosophies in the Anglo-Saxon world as opposed to continental European countries will be dealt with from a comparative perspective. The course then looks at international and European patent and trade mark law.

Recommended Reading –

• Graham Dutfield and Uma Suthersanen, Global Intellectual Property Law, Edward Elgar, 2008, pp. 3-44

International Economic Law
Course code: LAW5040
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Akbar Rasulov

This course examines the role of International Law in the formation of the contemporary international economic order, with a particular emphasis on the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its aim is to provide the students with a general introduction to the main legal components of the existing international trade order and to acquaint them with the relevant legal regimes, doctrines, and institutional arrangements. Seen in this context, our main concern in this course will be to develop a general understanding of the contemporary world trade system, its basic structure and principles, as well as its function and role in the constitution of the broader regime of international economic governance. The main target audience for this course is the students of International Law. You will not need any previous background in economics. Some of the themes that will be covered in the course include: (i) the rules and principles governing the discharge of international obligations concerning market access; (ii) the evolution of the national treatment regime; (iii) unfair trade practices; and (iv) WTO dispute settlement system.

Recommended Reading –

• Peter Van den Bossche, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Texts, Cases and Materials (2nd edn. 2008)
• Thomas Cottier, "From Progressive Liberalization to Progressive Regulation in WTO Law" (2006) 9 Journal of International Economic Law 779
• www.worldtradelaw.net