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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 (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
May
Lecturer
Andrew Christie (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | May |
---|---|
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. The instructional sessions provide students with an understanding of the fundamental principles of patent law, with a particular focus on the requirements for the grant of a valid patent and infringement of a patent. In the workshop sessions, students apply these principles to actual patent claims, prior art and infringing embodiments. Consideration is also given to the protection of trade secrets through the action in equity to restrain a breach of confidence. While the focus of the teaching will be on Australian law, the differences between this and New Zealand law will be identified and explored throughout the subject. Comparative reference will also be made to the law of the United States and countries that are members of the European Patent Convention. Successful completion of this subject satisfies the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for ‘Topic Group E’.
Principal topics include:
- Rationales for patent law
- Patentable subject matter
- Requirements for patentability – novelty, inventive step and utility
- Specification requirements – clarity, support, disclosure and best method
- Acts constituting infringement of a patent
- Interpreting the scope of the claim for infringement
- Ownership of patent rights
- Assignment and licensing of patent rights
- Trade secrets protection (breach of confidence)
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the principles of patent law, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, relating to the validity, infringement and commercial exploitation of patents, and of the principles for the protection of trade secrets
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the effectiveness of these legal principles
- 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 in equity 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 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 and issues of construction
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding patent law and the protection of trade secrets 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: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
You should have already successfully completed
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS90125 | Fundamentals of Intellectual Property |
August (On Campus - Parkville)
February (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
OR
Successful completion of another degree-level subject containing instruction on patent law
OR
Practical work experience in the area of patent law.
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
You may not gain credit for this subject if you have already successfully completed
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS90075 | Patents and Trade Secrets | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants are required to have previously studied and/or worked in the area of patent law. This subject is accredited by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board as satisfying the requirements of Topic Group E for registration as a Trans-Tasman patent attorney. Accordingly, it is taught and examined to high level of rigour. It is not suitable for students without prior study of, and/or work experience in, patent law.
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: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Participation | Throughout the teaching period | 15% |
Online multiple-choice test
| Before the commencement of classes | 10% |
Take-home examination
| 12 - 15 July 2024 | 75% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- May
Principal coordinator Andrew F. Christie Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 29 April 2024 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Before classes begin, make sure you prepare carefully for the online multiple-choice test. Teaching period 27 May 2024 to 7 June 2024 Last self-enrol date 3 May 2024 Census date 29 May 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 14 June 2024 Assessment period ends 15 July 2024 May contact information
Lecturer
Andrew Christie (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted 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.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Commercial Law Course Master of Laws Course Juris Doctor Course Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law Course Master of Intellectual Property Law - 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-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 31 January 2024