LAW7011

Copyright

Mr Mark Davison

One 2-hour seminar per week
* Second semester
* City

Objectives Students who successfully complete this subject should (1) have an enhanced appreciation of the policies and objectives underlying the law of copyright; (2) be in a position to comment critically on those policies and objectives and to relate them to current proposals for law reform; (3) have developed a detailed knowledge of the subject-matter that is eligible for protection under the laws, the requirements for obtaining such protection and its scope, once obtained; (4) be in a position to provide detailed and comprehensive advice to authors, designers and other creators on their rights and liabilities under the law of copyright to provide advice of equivalent depth to users of copyright material; (5) have a sound understanding of the operation and application of the rules governing the international protection of copyright, and (6) have a clear appreciation of the impact of technological change on the formulation and protection of the rights studied.

Synopsis This subject covers the branch of intellectual property law which protects literary and artistic creations, films, sound recordings, broadcasts, published editions of works and industrial designs for manufactured products. The focus is upon areas of difficulty and areas of contemporary and emerging importance, including computer software, databases and the challenges posed by convergence of communications and the Internet. Additional consideration will be given to the development of new sui generis forms of protection, such as for databases and international and comparative materials will be discussed, where relevant.

Assessment Research paper (4000 words): 40%
* Take-home or supervised examination: 45%
* Class presentation and participation: 15% (or such other assessment regime as is agreed to by the class)

Texts

To be advised