Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives Students who successfully complete this subject should (1) have an appreciation of the policies and objectives underlying the equitable and statutory regimes protecting inventions and other creative ideas, and the role that these laws play in the promotion of innovation and expansion of human knowledge; (2) be in a position to comment critically on those policies and objectives and to relate them to proposals for law reform; (3) have acquired a sound knowledge of the subject matter that is eligible for protection under these laws, the requirements for obtaining such protection and its scope, once obtained; (4) be in a position to provide basic advice to inventors and other creative persons and business enterprises on their rights and liabilities under these laws; (5) have an appreciation of the basic features of the international rules governing the protection of inventions; (6) have an appreciation of the issues involved in the development of broader forms of protection for ideas, and the consequences of such developments; and (7) have enhanced their skills of case analysis and statutory interpretation.
Synopsis This subject is concerned with the rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial and scientific fields. Primarily, this involves a study of the provisions of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth), including the requirements for obtaining a patent and the maintenance and enforcement of patent rights. Other statutory forms of protection, such as plant breeders' right and utility models, may also be considered, and there will be an overview of the international arrangements that exist for acquiring protection of inventions and other technical innovations. The protection given to confidential information and know-how will also be studied, and students will be asked to consider the rationales for, and the purposes of, granting protection in all the areas studied, with particular emphasis being placed on the economic and social justifications for such protection.
Assessment Written assignment: 30% and final examination: 70% or final examination: 100%