Postgraduate Course: Advanced Issues in Patent Law and Policy (LAWS11464)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Patents are a key component of most modern economies as they aim to foster innovation and promote economic growth.
This course will provide in-depth analysis of the legal and policy framework applicable to patents and will answer fundamental questions at the UK, European Union and international level.
- What is the patent governance framework?
- What filing strategy may be adopted by patent holders?
- What is the relationship between patent law, trade secrecy and competition law?
- What is the role of patents in the pharmaceutical industry or the ICT sector?
- What type of enforcement strategies may be adopted by patent holders?
- What are the differences between the US litigation framework and the UK approach to patent litigation?
- What efforts have been taken towards more harmonisation of patent law?
Recent developments such as AI-related inventions, the litigation of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) or the question of patent settlements in the pharmaceutical industry will also be included in the course. |
| Course description |
The aims and objectives of this course are twofold.
(1) It aims at providing a deeper understanding of substantive patent law and patent litigation, as well as identifying the role of a comparative approach to patent law and a European approach to patent law.
(2) It also aims at developing the students¿ ability to critically engage with patent strategies at the grant and post-grant phases, and to participate in the debate on contemporary issues in patent law.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Intellectual Property Law 2: Industrial Property course (LAWS11129) ¿ must be taken in parallel to this course or students must provide proof of knowledge of patent law acquired through practical experience or previous studies |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Formative Assessment:
A short editorial (2 pages) writing exercise will have to be submitted by the students by week 5. The editorial will have to touch upon one the topics discussed during the course at the choice of the students. This will prepare them for the summative assessment. Feedback will be provided by week 6.
Summative Assessment:
A written essay at the end of the term (total 5000 words) worth 100% of the final mark. |
| Feedback |
Feedback on the formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The course organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically comment on the mains areas of substantive patent law and patent litigation;
- Engage with a range of specialist concepts and principles of patent law when combined with the pharmaceutical, the ICT sector or when combined with trade secrecy and competition law;
- Develop an appreciation for the importance of a comparative approach to patent law as well as a European approach to patent law;
- Critically comment on the economic and social components of patent law.
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Reading List
Key reading materials (selected chapters) ¿ all available online via DiscoverED.
A. Brown, S. Kheria, J. Cornwell, M. Iljadica, Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy, OUP (5th ed., 2019)
J. Pila, P. Torremans, European Intellectual Property Law, OUP (2nd ed., 2019)
X. Seuba, The Global Regime for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, CUP (2017)
R. Merges, Justifying Intellectual Property Law, Harvard University Press (2011)
D. Burk, M. Lemley, The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It, University of Chicago Press (2009)
B. Bibble, J. Contreras, B. Love, N. Siebrasse, Patent Remedies and Complex Products, CUP (2019)
T. Cotter, Comparative Patent Remedies, OUP (2013)
C. Bohannan, H. Hovenkamp, Creation without restraint. Promoting liberty and rivalry in innovation, OUP (2012) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and Understanding:
Students will have the ability to critically comments on the mains areas of substantive patent law and patent litigation. They will be able to engage with a range of specialized concepts and principles of patent law when combined with the pharmaceutical, the ICT sector or when combined with trade secrecy and competition law.
They will also develop an appreciation for the importance of a comparative approach to patent law as well as a European approach to patent law. Finally, they will be able to critically comment on the economic and social components of patent law.
Skills and Abilities in Research and Enquiry:
The seminars (combined with active learning exercises) and the assessments encourage students to engage with routine searches (on and off-line) in patent law as well as using a significant range of resources necessary for patent law. They will be able to engage with complex areas of patent law and develop strong argumentation skills.
Skills and Abilities in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy:
The seminars (combined with active learning exercises and mandatory readings) require students to critically
and autonomously engage with literature as well as practice-based issues of patent law. The individual and group activities, the editorial writing exercise, as well as the final essay encourage students to take some initiative to analyse, synthetise and present the results of independent and/or collective search. The group activities require that students take responsibility for their own work but also for the work of their group. They will have to work collaboratively and engage with the ideas and arguments of others.
Skills and Abilities in Communication:
For some of the group activities envisaged as active learning exercises, students will have to create a short presentation on a topic discussed during the different sessions. By doing so, students will develop their communication skills as well as their presentation skills.
Skills and Abilities in Personal Effectiveness:
The essay at the end of the term requires that students apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of the issues discussed during the seminars. By doing so, the essay will allow students to develop original and creative responses to patent-based problems. They will be able to critically review, consolidate and extend knowledge, skills, practices and thinking in patent law.
Technical/practical skills:
The combination of active learning exercises, presentation of group work and essay necessitates that students plan and execute the different tasks carefully. |
| Keywords | Intellectual Property,Law,LLM,Postgraduate,Level 11,Patent Law |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Amandine Leonard
Tel: (0131 6)51 4918
Email: Amandine.Leonard@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Bethan Walters
Tel: (0131 6)50 2386
Email: bethan.walters@ed.ac.uk |
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