Postgraduate Course: Competition Law, Intellectual Property & the Innovation Economy (LAWS11534)
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 | This course explores how intellectual property (IP) and competition law shape and regulate innovation in modern economies. Students will analyze how IP rights incentivize (or hinder) technological progress, while competition law fosters (or prevents) the development of a dynamic and competitive environment that encourages ongoing innovation, market entry, and the growth of new ideas. |
| Course description |
This course explores the critical role of IP and competition law in fostering innovation, with a particular focus on how certain policies and regulatory frameworks either promote or hinder technological advancement in various sectors. The course examines the intersection of IP and competition law with market dynamics in high-tech industries, pharmaceuticals, digital platforms, and other innovation-driven sectors. Through a combination of legal doctrine, economic theory, and case law, students will explore how IP and competition authorities handle issues related to mergers, market dominance, anti-competitive agreements, exclusionary and exploitative behaviour that can affect innovation. Students will engage with real-world case studies to understand how IP and competition law impacts innovation dynamics across industries. Through analysis of both IP and competition law and economic theory, students will develop a nuanced understanding of how IP and competition policies influence market structures and innovation outcomes. By examining real-world case studies, students will develop a deeper understanding of the legal frameworks that balance innovation incentives with competition, ensuring a thriving market for new ideas and products. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to analyze and critique IP and competition law¿s role in regulating innovation, as well as understand the complex legal and economic interplay between competition, market access, and technological progress.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
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) |
1. Student presentation (30%) due in Week 6. The presentation will have to touch upon one of the topics discussed during the course at the choice of the students. «br /»
2. 3000 Word Policy Brief (70%). A list of titles will be offered, but students can also propose a topic that will be approved by academic staff. |
| Feedback |
Feedback on presentations will be provided (1) orally/in class after the presentation and (2) a brief written note will be sent by the end of Week 7
Formative assessment: A skeleton/plan for the policy brief should be submitted by Week 9 and feedback will be provided by the end of Week 10. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand how IP law and competition law shape and are shaped by innovation technology
- Understand and critically assess the tensions between competition and IP exclusivity, especially when it comes to digital market
- Critically engage with national and regional regulatory frameworks/ comparative approach
- Apply IP & Competition case law to innovation-driven disputes
- Critically comment on the economic and social components of the subject/ policy-related approach
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Reading List
A Brown, S Kheria, J Cornwell and M Iljadica, Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy (6th edition, OUP 2023) ¿ Chapter 20
C. Bohannan and H. Hovenkamp, Creation without Restraint- Promoting Liberty & Rivalry in Innovation (2011) Oxford University Press.
M. Lemley, ¿A new balance between IP and antitrust¿ (2007) 13 Sw. J.L. & Trade Am. 237-256. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
During the course, students will have the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities in (1) research and enquiry, (2) personal and intellectual autonomy and (3) communication as the seminars will be interactive and it is expected that students will critically engage with the reading list as well as each other¿s arguments in class.
The assessments will help students in developing their skills and abilities in:
1. Research and enquiry: The policy brief will require students to apply theoretical knowledge to a more practice-oriented issue. Original and creative responses will be expected.
2. Personal and intellectual autonomy: The policy brief will require students to engage and assess the relevance and importance of primary and secondary sources in both IP and competition law. The presentation will require students to take responsibility for their own work and the work of their group.
3. Communication skills: The presentation will require students to summarise and communicate effectively.
4. Personal effectiveness: The policy brief will require students to apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of the issues discussed during the seminars. The presentation will require students to work constructively in pairs. |
| Keywords | Competition law,Intellectual Property law,Innovation Economy,Digital Markets |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Amandine Leonard
Tel: (0131 6)51 4918
Email: Amandine.Leonard@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hannah Ackroyd
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: hackroyd@ed.ac.uk |
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