Module code: LAW7008-B
To review the global nature of intellectual property regimes and the regulatory mechanisms; to describe each of the rights encompassed by the term intellectual property; to consider the main legal elements pertinent to each right; to review the operation of intellectual property regimes through specific global industries, eg: pharmaceuticals, media, and information technology; to place this study within the broader setting of economic policy and commercial applications; to consider the impact of new technology on these rights.
1. Introduction and rationale of intellectual property regimes. Global and international institutions. Overview of the sources of global intellectual property law. Consider the global nature of intellectual property regimes and the regulatory mechanisms provided by the enmeshment of national and intergovernmental regulation, the increasing roles of private regulators and public private hybrid bodies, the wide array of informal institutional arrangements that now operate alongside formal institutions, and the foundations of the field in normative practices, and normative sources, that extend beyond international law sources.
2. Consideration of the following intellectual property rights placing each within the broader setting of global economic and social policy with reference to specific global industries and the position of developing and least developed countries. Where applicable, the impact of information technology on these rights. Copyright, patents, design rights, trade and service marks, breach of confidence, passing off, sui generis rights.
3. Enforcement and remedies for intellectual property rights at national and international level and the interplay of formal and informal mechanisms.
4. The role of intellectual property in the protection of traditional knowledge and biodiversity.
5. The module will also provide education for sustainable development in relation to international intellectual property, within the context of global conflicts on `ownership` concepts