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, trade secrets, 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.
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.

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.
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. The protection of trade secrets (hints)
4. Community Industrial designs
5. 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) uploaded to the University moodle e-learning platform (moodle.unive.it).
PowerPoint slides relevant to the course topics uploaded to the moodle e-learning platform.

The exam is an oral exam.
It consists of two open-ended questions on the topics dealt with during the course and/or—for attending students—of preparing an individual assignment to present in class (virtually or in-person if permitted) at the end of the course. The preparation of the individual assignment is not mandatory: it replaces the second open-ended question and counts for 50% of the grade.

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

English

Students are encouraged to actively attend classes.

oral