Specific skills related to the course content
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Transversal skills
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Construct a structured, well-supported and convincing argument.
It offers students a comprehensive overview of developments in the field and the scope for progress in light of current technological and societal challenges.
This teaching unit is devoted to the study of the main rights that make up intellectual property (IP): copyright, trademarks, patents, designs and trade secrets. For each of these rights, the aim is to understand the general logic of protection, its purpose and its scope.
The course will also invite students to consider the philosophical and economic foundations underlying the creation of these various exclusive rights and the positive and negative impacts that these rights may generate.
After a few introductory sessions on IP in general (purpose, sources, justifications, etc.), the following sessions will briefly present the fundamental elements (purpose, conditions of protection, scope of protection and exceptions, ownership, duration, etc.) of the most common intellectual property rights: copyright, trademarks, patents, designs and trade secrets.
Current debates on IP are also discussed in order to highlight the economic and social issues involved. These include issues relating to health-related patents and the complexity of copyright in the digital environment.
Students are invited to discuss the most relevant issues in this area in a reasoned manner and to take a position on certain legal proposals. The lecturer provides as many examples as possible that illustrate the mechanisms discussed, enabling students to project themselves into concrete situations and apply the theoretical rules rigorously and constructively.
In general, the course focuses on both national and supranational perspectives. The analysis covers Belgian law, Benelux law, European Union law and international treaty law. Particular attention is paid to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Subject to change, the course will adopt the following outline:
1. Nature and justification
2. Process of internationalisation and Europeanisation
3. Copyright (1): Subject matter and ownership
4. Copyright (2): Scope of protection
5. Copyright (3): Collective management, related rights and application in the digital world
6. Trademark law (1): Function, European system, subject matter and formalities
7. Trademark law (2): Infringements, exceptions and exhaustion
8. Patent law (1): Function, subject matter
9. Patent law (2): European protection system, infringements and exceptions
10. Designs: Purpose, formalities and intensity of protection;
11. Trade secrets: Purpose and intensity of protection
12. Conclusions. Questions and answers. Presentation of the course.
Exercises may be given before or during the course.
These will enable students to put into practice the theoretical knowledge acquired during the course.
Evaluation is based on a partially open-book written examination (see below).
The purpose of the assessment is to use open-ended questions to:
§ assess the knowledge acquired by the student on the main elements of the protection regimes studied
§ verify the student's ability to analyse a practical situation and apply the rules relating to IP
§ test the student's ability to develop critical thinking on intellectual property in general, its evolution, and the application of its rules by the courts.
Authorised documents: Students may use the legislation and the collection of texts and case law that will be provided to them. The texts may not be annotated, except for references from article to article. No other documents are permitted.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Law (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Bachelor in Law (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) | Standard | 3 | 3 |