EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

The course is a free choice course of the Master's Degree Programme in Global Development and Entrepreneurship.
This course will provide students with an overview of the various Intellectual Property rights (including copyright, trademark and patent laws, community designs, protected designations of origin and geographical indications) and a sound understanding of the role that intellectual property plays in the modern concepts of economy and trade,in traditional fields of application but also in the most innovative and digital ones.
The course covers the main aspects of intellectual property rights and of their protection: the nature and extent of the relevant rights; the process of obtaining and registering intellectual property rights and the process of protecting and enforcing them.
The course will examine the international treaties and conventions and the EU legislative measures (EU Regulations and Directives) relevant to IP rights and case studies.

1. Knowledge and comprehension skills
1.1 Knowledge of what the intellectual property rights (IPRs) are in the modern economy and society.
1.2. Knowledge of the laws relating to IPRs at EU and international levels.
1.3 Comprehension and analysis of the basic rules and principles relating to IPRs both at EU and international levels.
2. Applied knowledge and comprehension skills
2.1. Ability to understand the role of the intellectual property in the current legal framework.
2.2. Ability to identify the interconnections among various IPRs.
2.3. Ability to understand the importance of an harmonised and effective regulation of IPRs to solve a conflict.
2.4 Ability to understand from practical case studies the correct application of the regulatory context.
2.5 Understand the rudiments of the legal - strategic planning of a digital project / start up involving intellectual property.
3. Use of independent judgment
3.1. Ability to identify and to interpret the European Union legislation and the international Conventions.
3.2. Ability to find, to analyse, and to interpret both the national and the EU case law dealing with infringement of industrial property rights.
3.3. Ability to propose legal solutions to cases involving IPRs and their protection.

It is recommended that students know the fundamentals of Private Law and Business Law.

a) Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights
b) Fields of Intellectual property protection:
1. Trademarks (in particular: EU trademarks)
2. Patents (European Patent and Unitary Patent)
3. Copyright and neighbouring rights

Course materials (teaching kit produced by the European Patent Office (EPO) in co-operation with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), EU legislation and international conventions, decisions and judgments of the most representative courts and other open source materials) uploaded on Moodle e-learning platform (moodle.unive.it).
PowerPoint slides relevant to the course topics uploaded to the moodle e-learning platform.

The exam is a written one. The candidate will be required to answer 21 multiple choice questions and to solve one case study.
For each correct answer, the candidate gets 1 mark. The maximum marks a candidate can be awarded for the case study is 10.
Students may also prepare an optional assignment to get extra marks.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Marks will be awarded as follows for both attending and non-attending students:
A. Marks in the range 18–22 will be awarded if the student demonstrates:
- sufficient knowledge of and understanding of the programme;
- limited ability to collect and/or interpret data, and to formulate independent judgements.
- sufficient communication skills, particularly with regard to the use of specific industrial law terminology.
B. Scores in the range 23–26 will be awarded if the following criteria are met:
- fair knowledge of, and ability to apply, the programme;
- a fair ability to collect and/or interpret data and formulate independent judgements;
- fair communication skills, particularly with regard to the use of specific industrial law terminology.
C. Scores in the range 27–30 will be awarded if:
- good or excellent knowledge of, and ability to apply, the programme;
- good or excellent ability to collect and/or interpret data and formulate independent judgements;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific banking terminology.
D. Honours will be awarded for knowledge and understanding of the programme, excellent judgement, and excellent communication skills.

Frontal lectures.
Case studies used as additional teaching material.
Individual assignments and in-class participation to encourage active learning.

Students are encouraged to actively attend classes.