Undergraduate Course: Intellectual Property: Copyright and Related Rights (LAWS10206)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will involve study of the law of copyright and related rights. The focus is on UK and EU law in this field. Copyright and related rights form the core content of the course although the seminar topics covered in the course (such as performers rights, database right, designs etc) will vary from year to year. |
| Course description |
Intellectual property is a broad ranging subject. The course will enable you to identify the current law in the United Kingdom as it relates to copyright and related rights. Copyright and related rights form the core content of the course although the seminar topics covered in the course (such as performers rights, database right, designs etc) will vary from year to year.¿
The aims of this course are:
- To develop the analytical and critical skills of students by detailed examination of the relevant legislation, cases, treaties and other legal instruments governing the above-noted rights in the UK, Europe and beyond;
- To foster critical understanding and evaluation of areas of controversy within this area of law;
- To instill in students an ability to analyse and apply the law to different scenarios and to criticise constructively current laws and to suggest and evaluate possible reforms;
- To develop the written and oral skills of students through class discussion and written assessments.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Spaces on this course are allocated as part of the Law Honours Course Allocation process. Places are generally only available to students who must take Law courses. To request a space on this course, please email Law.courseselection@ed.ac.uk |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course is only open to visiting students coming through a direct exchange with the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific Exchange). Exchange students outside of Law and independent study abroad students are not eligible to enrol in this course, with no exceptions.
**Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**
Priority will be given to students studying on exchange within the Law department, and it is highly unlikely that there will be additional spaces for general exchange students & independent study abroad students to enrol; we will look into this on a case-by-case basis in September/January. Visiting students are advised to bear in mind that enrolment in specific courses can never be guaranteed, and you may need to be flexible in finding alternatives in case your preferred courses have no available space. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
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
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written exam 100% |
| Feedback |
Students will have the opportunity to submit an outline written answer to a mock problem-style essay question as the formative exercise on this course and to receive written feedback on their answers. The problem question will also be discussed in class and group feedback will be provided on the required technique and approach to answer it.
Feedback for the coursework will be released via Learn once all work has been marked. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Intellectual Property: Copyright and Related Rights | 180 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify the current law in the United Kingdom and Europe as it relates to the rights noted in the course description
- Differentiate between the approaches of the UK, Europe and other legal systems towards the protection of these forms of intellectual property
- Analyse and apply the law to different scenarios and to comment critically on the current state of the lawin these systems
- Identify the problems currently beleaguering the said systems in the field and to propose viable alternative means by which the problems could be circumvented
|
Reading List
The set textbook for this course, which will be referred to in all reading lists, is:
Abbe Brown, Smita Kheria, Jane Cornwell and Marta Iljadica, Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy (OUP, 6th edn, 2023)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course will require students to demonstrate knowledge, skills and understanding:
- in using the skills of legal research, analysis and critical thinking associated with the practice of intellectual property law
- in their response to this course's assessed exam.
The course will engender in students the ability to
- critically identify and analyse the intellectual property rights studied in this course
- demonstrate some originality and creativity in considering the policy and other issues underlying the legal issues with respect to those intellectual property rights
- critically review and consolidate their knowledge and thinking in respect of the relevant intellectual property rights
- make judgements between a range of secondary sources and commentaries
The course will require students to
- exercise autonomy and initiative
- work with their class mates in class discussion during the seminars to bring about development in their thinking
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| Keywords | Intellectual Property; Copyright; Designs; Performers' Rights; Database Rights; UK and EU Law |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Smita Kheria
Tel:
Email: smita.kheria@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Robyn Blyth
Tel: (01316) 514550
Email: rblyth@ed.ac.uk |
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