730-441 Copyright, Patent and Allied Rights

Legal Method and Reasoning; Principles of Public Law; Torts; Legal Theory; Contracts; Obligations; Property or in each case their equivalents.

Copyright, patent and allied rights are legal rights which attach to intangible subject matter (such as creative works, industrial advances or secrets) and, reflecting their increased commercial significance, are fertile growth areas in private law. The subject commences by allowing students to situate these rights within the system of private law and to analyse them within a framework of economic and social policy. From this foundation the subject allows students to develop an understanding of the legal fundamentals of the rights examined. Those fundamentals are: subject matter protected by copyright; requirements for copyright protection; ownership and duration of copyright; direct and indirect infringement of copyright; exceptions and limitations to the exclusive rights of the copyright owner; protection of design; protection of confidential information; inherently patentable subject matter; construction of patent claims; the requirements of patentability; ownership and duration of patent rights; transfer and exploitation of patent rights; and infringement of patents and defences to patent infringement.

A written assignment 2000 words 50% (due mid semester) and a final open-book examination 2 hours 50%.

Printed materials will be issued by the Faculty of Law.

• McKeough, Stewart & Griffith, Intellectual Property Law in Australia. 3rd edn, 2004, LexisNexis Butterworths.