Handbook

This is a course for students who have already learned the fundamentals of intellectual property law, and who would like to extend their knowledge and practical skills in this area of law.

Policy: The course provides opportunities to explore some contentious areas of debate and policy development within intellectual property law, such as trade mark counterfeiting and copyright piracy; issues surrounding bio-prospecting and ownership of genetic material; protection of indigenous cultural and intellectual property (‘ICIP’); and the effects of intellectual property laws on access to essential medicines.

Practice: The course also examines practical issues intellectual property lawyers are likely to confront in practice, such as franchising; the interplay of marketing, branding and trade marks; portfolio management; criminal offences; registration practice and strategies; parallel importation; geographical indications. A choice of assessment options allows students to either extend their knowledge in a particular area of interest through a research essay, or develop their practical legal skills by advising hypothetical clients in a series of short problem question exercises known as ‘practice briefs’.

The course provides a solid general knowledge of relevant issues and skills for students wishing to practice in intellectual property law, and a good grounding in intellectual property research for students considering writing a thesis or undertaking postgraduate studies in this area.

Main Topics

• Intellectual Property theory and its practical application
• Politics of IP in Australia and internationally
• Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (‘ICIP’)
• alternatives to contemporary international (TRIPS based) IP standards
• Intellectual propertization: How far should the expansion of intellectual property laws go?
• Enforcement issues: trade mark counterfeiting and copyright piracy; IP crime.
• IP, marketing and branding practice (including character merchandising and personality rights)
• IP, bio-prospecting and owning life
• IP, patents and access to essential medicines
• Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding IP (e.g. marketing, sociological, economics)
• Contract law in IP practice; licensing agreements (incl. compulsory licensing and technology transfer), copyright permissions & franchising
• IP portfolio management
• Trademark registration practice and procedure (incl. registration strategies); overview of patent registration practice and procedure (including drafting/interpreting claims/specifications)
• Parallel importation and exhaustion in Australian and international copyright and trademark law
• Geographical Indications and related law
• IP dispute resolution (incl. mediation, arbitration, and the adoption of integrated IP strategies pre- and post- dispute)