LW6007 - Intellectual Property Law

This 20 credit module will involve 200 hours of notional learning.

Teaching will be delivered via a combination of:
24 x 1 hour large group lecture sessions
6 x 2 hour small group seminar-type sessions.
Total = 36 hours of face-to-face teaching.

Face-to-face teaching will be supplemented by recorded webcasts outlining key IP issues & coursework guidance materials. You can access these via the eLP.
In addition to this teaching, you will be expected to engage in tutor guided independent learning (TGIL) in your preparations for teaching sessions. You will be provided with reading lists and questions via the eLP; you will prepare for teaching sessions by undertaking the recommended reading and question preparation in advance of the sessions. TGIL will take about 82 hours across the module.

Feedback on summative assessment will take the following forms:
• Completion of a written comments sheet for your essay, including ‘feed forward’ comments.
• Use of assessment criteria marking grid
• Creation of an outline answer & general points to note document for you to access
• Opportunity to discuss your assessment performance with tutor in feedback week

The primary form of academic support on this module will be via teaching sessions. You will obtain ongoing and valuable feedback on your understanding and prepration from tutors across the 6 seminar sessions.

In addition to this academic support in sessions and the webcasts (outlined above) you will obtain formative feedback on this module in the following ways:
• Short quizzes to test knowledge at the end of select lectures
• An option to practice a past coursework question, with subsequent discussion & consideration of model answer and points to note in a teaching session.
• Members of the module team are available to discuss module-related issues with students on an ad hoc basis

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• A systematic & in-depth knowledge of key aspects of IP law, demonstrating detailed and coherent understanding (knowledge
• An ability to recognise and apply some of the current theories and critical scholarship at the forefront of IP law (knowledge

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• An ability to consolidate & apply your knowledge of IP law to complex legal problems in order to find solutions
• An ability to conduct self-directed research including accurate indentification of issues, the retrieval and evaluation of relevant, current information from a range of sources

Formative assessment:
Instances of formative assessment on this module include:
• Testing knowledge and understading in seminar sessions
• Short quizzes to test knowledge at the end of select lectures
• An option to practice a past coursework question, with subsequent discussion & consideration of model answer and points to note in a teaching session.
These activities substantially contribute to all 4 MLOs.



Summative assessment:
Will consist of 1 piece of 2,500 word coursework which requires students to conduct independent research into a problem or essay question. As outlined above, feedback on this assessment will take the following forms:
• Completion of a written comments sheet for your essay, including ‘feed forward’ comments.
• Use of assessment criteria marking grid
• Creation of an outline answer & general points to note document for you to access
• Opportunity to discuss assessment performance with your tutor in feedback week

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The intellectual property (IP) module examines a range of dynamic laws that protect products of the human mind so they can be commercially exploited. It includes copyright, which protects literary, musical, artistic and other creative works, and trade marks which protect signs, logos and branding. Additionally it covers patents which protect industrial inventions, design rights and confidential trade secrets. Despite the diverse array of material covered by these various IP laws, they hold one thing in common; their crucial financial significance to modern economies. This module also entails asking wider questions about IP laws; what are the underlying justifications for IP rights? Is the balance of protection afforded by IP laws appropriate? How are such laws responding to technological developments? What are the global political implications of IP laws?