Internat.Issues in Intellectual Property

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:

• The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Over the past two decades, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) globally has become a major issue both for right holders and users, and one that has had profound implications in a number of important areas of public discourse, such as international trade, public health, education and research, national development and the promotion of biodiversity. This subject seeks to engage with all these issues, and begins with a discussion of the sources of international intellectual property (IP) law, including the principal IP treaties and the general architecture of the international IP system. It then considers a number of case studies where particular IP issues arise and where international solutions are presently being negotiated. It will also examine the growing tension between the territoriality of IPRs and the global scope of IP exploitation, considering how this clash plays out in the key areas of private international law. Both lecturers have had extensive experience in international intellectual property matters, and bring to the subject both academic and practical perspectives that add greatly to its interest and relevance.

This subject will consist of a survey of the economic, legal and political elements and forces that shape the international IP system.

Principal topics will include:

• Introduction to the international IP system, including the main producers and owners of IP, the institutional architecture and the treaty system
• Instruments and strategies for obtaining protection internationally – the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid System, Hague System and regional systems
• The protection of names, marks and other identifiers and content, with particular reference to the internet
• Dispute settlement and private international law issues
• Biotechnology, access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge
• Access to knowledge
• Human rights, IP and the development agenda.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Understand the institutional architecture for the formulation and implementation of intellectual property policy internationally and, to a lesser extent, regionally
• Understand the main treaties establishing international intellectual property norms and the dispute settlement machinery for international intellectual property disputes, both private and public
• Understand the issues and trends that are at the centre of current discussions and negotiations for the further development or modification of the international intellectual property system.

Take-home examination (100%) (12–17 February 2014)
or
Problem exercise (40%) (12–14 February 2014)

6,000 word research paper (60%) (3 March 2014) on a topic approved by the subject coordinator

Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.