units

LAW5341

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 22 November 2024

print version

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Postgraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Law

Quota applies

Postgraduate programs are based on a model of small group teaching and therefore class sizes need to be restricted.

Offered

City (Melbourne)

  • Term 4 2016 (On-campus block of classes)

Notes

For postgraduate Law discontinuation dates, please see http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/postgraduate/pg-disc-dates.html
For postgraduate Law unit timetables, please see http://law.monash.edu.au/current-students/course-unit-information/timetables/postgraduate/index.html
Previously coded as LAW7224

Synopsis

This unit is designed to meet the requirements of the Professional Standards Board for Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys (PSB) in relation to trade mark practice and the professional conduct of trade marks attorneys. The unit content details the process by which trade mark applications are made, opposed and registration maintained. It also deals with exploitation of registered trade mark rights via assignment, licensing and their use as security in financial transactions. It also deals with conflicts of interest and the need to maintain appropriate monitoring systems.
Emphasis is placed on the practical aspects of trade mark practice as is relevant to the practice of a registered Trade Marks Attorney. To this end, the unit places particular emphasis on the practices and procedures of the Australian Trade Marks Office. It also seeks to provide students with a practical appreciation of the practice of a Trade Marks Attorney through identification and resolution of practice and procedure issues that frequently arise when dealing with trade marks through the application process and after registration.
Professional conduct for Trade Marks and Patent Attorneys, including such issues as registration, professional liability and negligence issues, conflicts of interest, privilege, confidentiality, maintenance of rights and monitoring systems, fiduciary obligations to clients, and the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys Code of Conduct.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will:

  1. meet the learning requirements of the Professional Standards Board for Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys in relation to Trade Mark Practice (topic group D) and Professional Conduct (topic group B)
  2. apply knowledge and understanding of the rights, privileges and responsibilities of trade marks attorneys
  3. Investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, and concepts in relation to trade mark practice, especially the prosecution of trade marks applications, opposition to trade mark applications and the maintenance of registration and the means of exploiting those trade marks
  4. Conduct research in relation to trade mark practice and all aspects of prosecution of trade mark applications and filing of such applications.
  5. Use cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate at an abstract level complex ideas and and concepts relevant to the tasks of advising a client on and filing opposition to a trade mark application, including the preparation of relevant evidence and the conduct of hearings
  6. Apply cognitive, technical and creative skills to advise clients on the desirability of seeking trade mark protection
  7. Use those same skills to advise clients on alternative protection regimes in Australia (such as passing off and use of the Trade Practices Act)
  8. Use those same skills to advise clients on trade mark registration in other countries and via international conventions, including Paris convention trade mark applications, Madrid Protocol applications and European Community Trade Mark applications.

Assessment

Assignment (3,750 words): 50%
Take home examination (3,750 words): 50%
For professional conduct students only - Professional conduct assignment (1,500 words): Pass/Fail

Workload requirements

24 contact hours (Trade mark practice only students) or 30 contact hours (Professional conduct only students) per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)

Chief examiner(s)

Mr Ian Horak Personal ProfilePersonal Profile (http://www.law.monash.edu/staff/postgraduate/sess-ihorak.html)