Licensing Law and Technology Transfer

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

The workshop component of this subject will be taught in the Melbourne CBD.

This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.

136-150 hours

The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.

Successful completion of both of the below subjects, or equivalent subjects, or appropriate practical experience in these two fields:

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 Student Equity and Disability Support.

Technology transfer is a term used to describe the process by which skills, knowledge and intellectual property rights are moved from one person or organisation to another. Governments and businesses around the world now recognise the fundamental importance of innovation and the commercialisation of new technologies to economic prosperity. Here, technology transfer and in particular intellectual property licensing have a vital role. This subject looks at the legal and commercial issues relevant to technology transfer, with a focus on intellectual property licensing and the negotiation of licence agreements. The subject also includes the licensing of trade marks and software.

The subject lecturers have worked in the field of technology transfer for many years and bring practical perspectives to the topics covered.

Principal topics include:

• Licensing of:
  • Patents and know-how
  • Trade marks, including franchise agreements
  • Copyright, including computer software
• Impact of competition laws
• Payments and taxes
• Contractual and commercial issues
• Negotiation of licence agreements.

A student who has successfully completed this subject will:

• Have a detailed understanding of the legal and commercial issues relevant to intellectual property licensing
• Have the cognitive and technical skills to identify, examine and analyse issues in proposed intellectual property licence terms
• Acquire a sophisticated appreciation of the unique issues associated with patent licensing and the disclosure of confidential know how
• Understand how the Franchising Code affects trade mark licensing
• Have an appreciation of how competition law impacts intellectual property licences
• Be able to apply the knowledge obtained to the successful negotiation of licence agreements

• Participation in workshop and preparation of written materials after workshop (30%) (14 September)
• Take-home examination (5,000-6,000 words as specified in the subject reading guide) (70%) (14 - 17 October)

A minimum of 75% attendance is a hurdle requirement.

Specialist printed materials will be made available free of charge from the Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.