Postgraduate - CourseMaster of Intellectual Property Law

This expert graduate course enables graduates of law and disciplines related to the specialisation, or graduates working in the intellectual property law field, to develop advanced professional skills and specialist knowledge of developments in the specialisation. Students investigate contemporary issues in law, practice and scholarship, and evaluate complex legal issues from theoretical, international and interdisciplinary perspectives. The course enhances the capacity to undertake independent research, and includes options for a pathway to doctoral studies. By completing specified electives, students can complete in the course all the units that are accredited or registration as a trade marks attorney and a number of the units that are accredited for registration as a patent attorney in Australia.

These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 9, the Bologna Cycle 2 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 9, the Bologna Cycle 2 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).

Graduates of the course will have

• knowledge and understanding of recent developments in areas of law or professional practice
• knowledge of legal research principles and methods to plan, carry out and report on an original project
• knowledge and reasoning skills to critically evaluate theory and practice in areas of law
• research skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories
• cognitive skills to apply theories, knowledge and skills to different legal areas or to new situations in legal practice or scholarship
• thinking skills to discuss complex and abstract legal ideas and theories
• communication and interpretive skills to justify arguments, methods, and conclusions to legal and lay audiences
• creative skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments that contribute to professional practice or scholarship
• high level personal autonomy and accountability.

Students may be eligible for credit for up to 50 per cent of the course (24 points) for masters level studies in law.

The course comprises eight 6-point coursework units or a combination of coursework units and a minor thesis.

Students must complete one of the following options:

Option 1

• LAW5082 Masters research (6 points)
• at least four units from the list of intellectual property law electivesintellectual property law electives (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/intellectual-property-law) (24 points)
• up to three units from the list of masters law electivesmasters law electives (http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/aos/law/index.html) (18 points)

Option 2

• LAW5083 Minor thesis on an approved topic in intellectual property law (12 points)
• six masters law electivesmasters law electives (http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/aos/law/index.html) including at least three from the list of intellectual property law electivesintellectual property law electives (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/intellectual-property-law) (36 points)

Option 3

• LAW5084 Minor thesis on an approved topic in intellectual property law (24 points)
• four masters law electivesmasters law electives (http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/aos/law/index.html) including at least one from the list of intellectual property law electivesintellectual property law electives (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/intellectual-property-law) (24 points)

Students taking the course as a pathway to doctoral studies are advised to take a minor thesis option.

Additional course requirements:

• domestic students with a degree in a discipline other than law must complete LAW5080 (Australian legal system) as one of their masters electives
• international students and those with a law degree from a non-Australian jurisdiction must complete LAW5081 (Australian legal process and research) as one of their masters electives.

Further information is available on the faculty website regarding law units and specialisationslaw units and specialisations (http://www.law.monash.edu.au/postgraduate/units-overview.html) and the current postgraduate law timetablecurrent postgraduate law timetable (http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/course-unit-information/timetables/postgraduate/index.html).

• Intellectual property law
• Media and communications law
• Law

Students may exit with a Graduate Diploma in Law providing all requirements for that award have been met.

Master of Intellectual Property Law