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Patent Law (LAWS70021)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
June
Lecturers
Dr Warwick Rothnie, Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | June |
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Fees | Look up fees |
For at least 400 years, patent law has been the primary regulatory mechanism for optimising innovation. With more than two million patent applications filed annually around the world, the patent system is both highly complex and of great economic importance. This subject provides the foundational knowledge necessary for a professional understanding of patent law and the patent system. It does so through a combination of instructional sessions and hands-on workshop sessions. These provide students with a detailed understanding of the principles of patent law, with a particular focus on the requirements for the grant of a valid patent and for infringement of a patent. In the workshop sessions, students apply the principles of patent validity and patent infringement to actual prior art, patent claims and infringing embodiments. Successful completion of this subject satisfies the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for Topic Group E: Patent Law.
Principal topics include:
- History of patent protection
- Rationales for and alternatives to patents
- Trade secrets protection (breach of confidence)
- Patentable subject matter
- Requirements for patentability, including novelty, inventive step and utility
- Section 40 objections—ambiguity, description and disclosure, fair basis and support
- Fraud, false suggestion and misrepresentation
- Infringement, defences and remedies
- Inventorship, entitlement and ownership
- Transfer and exploitation of patent rights
- The impact of competition law
- Future of the patent system.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the principles of patents and the patents systems in Australia and New Zealand relating to the grant, exercise and exploitation of patents for invention and the protection of undisclosed information outside the patent system, including recent developments in this field of law and practice
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the effectiveness of these legal rules
- Be an engaged participant in debate regarding emerging and contemporary issues in the field, such as the definition of patentable subject, standards of patentability, the scope of exclusive rights, defences to protection, and the interaction between patents and other areas of legal protection, such as the action for breach of confidence
- Have a sound appreciation of the factors and processes driving governmental and parliamentary revision of the legal framework
- Have an advanced understanding of the situations in which issues relating to the protection, whether by patent or otherwise, of technical innovations made by clients may arise
- Have a an awareness of the legal regimes relating to these areas in an international context
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating to patent law and the law relating to undisclosed information, and to critically evaluate the existing legal principles and policy rationales involved in these forms of protection
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse existing and emerging legal issues relating to the protection of patents for invention, including standards of patentability, issues of construction and the availability of second tier forms of protection, such as the “innovation patent”
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding patent law and the protection of undisclosed information to relevant specialist and non-specialist audiences, including clients
- Be able to demonstrate autonomy, judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field of patent law.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
Take-home examination (8,000 words) (100%) (15 - 20 August)
A minimum of 75% attendance is a hurdle requirement.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- June
Principal coordinator Warwick Rothnie Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24-34 hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 28 May 2018 Pre teaching requirements The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 25 June 2018 to 29 June 2018 Last self-enrol date 8 December 2017 Census date 25 June 2018 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 July 2018 Assessment period ends 20 August 2018 June contact information
Lecturers
Dr Warwick Rothnie, Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist printed materials will be made available free of charge from the Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies Course Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law Course Juris Doctor Course Master of Commercial Law Course Master of Intellectual Property Law Course Master of Laws - Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 3 November 2022