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Intellectual Property, Media and Technology
Offered: Summer 2022/2023
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Assessment: A1 - Discussion Board Posts (10%) A2 - Initial Assignment (25%) A3 - Final Assignment (65%)
Intellectual Property Commercialisation — 76056
Offered: Spring 2022
Assessment: A1 – Class Engagement (30%) A2 – Article Evaluation (30%) A3 – Research Essay (40%) Brief Overview: Are you interested in the evolution of digital technology, or the move to a global, multi-platform delivery of traditional broadcasting and telecommunications? Broadcasting and Telecommunications Regulation allows students to delve into a rotating menu of topical issues, reflecting the changing nature of media production, delivery and consumption. This subject is ideal for students interested in the regulation of broadcasting, telecommunications and online content, the obligations placed on businesses providing these services, and the law’s response to technological advancements. Through exploring case studies, this subject allows students to explore modern legal challenges facing the broadcasting and telecommunications industry.
Please note: 70616 Australian Constitutional Law is a prerequisite for this subject.
Brief Overview: This is the perfect subject for those interested in exploring issues related to the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) rights as a business asset for new enterprises, or as a source of income for existing enterprises. Commercialisation is the process of bringing IP to the market in order to be exploited. This subject provides a comprehensive overview of legal, business and economic issues that are relevant to the commercialising and licensing of intellectual property (IP) rights in both domestic and global contexts. The scope is interdisciplinary, exploring the business and economic aspects of IP licensing and investment in IP development in the context of a detailed legal framework for IP licensing and investment. Students will develop practical skills training in drafting and negotiating licenses through practice-focused exercises that give students a better sense of the deal-making process in licensing transactions both in Australia and abroad.
Please note: 70327 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law is a prerequisite for this subject.
Offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2023
Assessment: A1 - Class Participation (25%) A2 - Legal Advice Assignment (35%) A3 - Take Home Exam (40%) Brief Overview: Are you interested in the intangible, creative and informational assets associated with copyright and design? Intellectual Property: Copyright and Design is an ideal subject for students looking to further their understanding of the theoretical, jurisprudential and policy issues surrounding the law of copyright and design. Through open class discussion, students will learn about applicable laws, practices and policies, as well as the different public and private stakeholders involved in intellectual property law. These skills are put to the test in a legal advice assignment, which mirrors the factual and legal issues that commonly arise in copyright and design disputes.
Please note: 70327 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law is a prerequisite for this subject.
Offered: Autumn 2023
Assessment: A1 - Proposal Abstract (35%) A2 - Legal problem Assignment Trademarks (35%) A3 - Critical Reflection and Research Assignment (30%)
Staff Contribution: Professor Isabella Alexander Intellectual property (IP) is the name given to the suite of laws which seek to foster innovation and creativity and to regulate ‘the marketplace of ideas’. An understanding of IP law is essential for those with an interest in the intersection between law and the fields of science, technology, and manufacturing, the creative industries, and the digital economy, as well as those interested in a career in general commercial legal practice. In this subject we focus on two key areas of intellectual property law: the laws relating to patents, and those relating to trade marks. The coronavirus pandemic catapulted vaccine patents into the news, as conflicts developed between the interests of pharmaceutical patent owners and public health concerns. Meanwhile innovation in artificial intelligence and biotechnology put pressure on traditional legal categories and open up new questions about what can qualify as a patentable invention. The growth of the digital economy also raises new challenges for trade mark owners, those seeking to compete with them in the marketplace and consumers. In this subject students will learn the legislative and doctrinal frameworks for both areas of law, and explore their understanding through hypothetical legal scenarios. They will also engage with the broader debates and controversies that arise in these areas, and will be encouraged to train a critical and analytical lens on a fast-moving and cutting-edge area of law. Brief Overview: Intellectual property is protected by the law and includes intangible, creative, inventive and informational assets. Students will learn about the doctrinal law of trademarks, passing off, the Australian Consumer Law, geographical indications or origin, and patents in terms of the relevant statutory and case law frameworks. Alongside this, the course will also cover the litigation processes and remedies. This elective is designed to help students understand the complex nature of public and private interests in this field of law as well as prepare them for a career in commerce or legal practice
Class discussion will consist of theoretical, jurisprudential and policy issues underlying this area of law. The research tasks will allow students to critically evaluate legislation, practices and policies.
Please note: 70327 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law is a prerequisite for this subject.
Privacy and Surveillance Law — 76089
Offered: Summer 2022/2023
Assessment: A1 - Seminar Participation (20%) A2 - Initial Privacy/Surveillance Analysis (30%) A3 - Advanced Privacy/Surveillance Analysis (50%) Brief Overview: Are you interested in public debates surrounding the invasion of personal privacy, the surveillance of personal conversations, activities and locations, or the retention of personal data? Privacy and Surveillance Law will allow students to engage with increasingly prevalent conversations about modern privacy, fuelled by the introduction of new technologies.
This subject tackles issues surrounding online privacy protection, through navigating the complex mix of common law, and federal and state/territory laws. Students engage in a critical analysis of privacy and surveillance law through the lens of theoretical, policy and international contexts, and make recommendations to reform the operation of current laws.
Please note: 70616 Australian Constitutional Law is a prerequisite for this subject.
Technology Law, Policy, and Ethics — 76106
Offered: Autumn 2023 Brief Overview: Eager to explore policy and ethical issues that arises through technological advancement, and the role of lawyers in shaping policy and protecting vulnerable populations? In our contemporary society, lawyers need to be adaptive and technically capable in response to these impacts. Ethical and policy issues arising from innovative technology poses new threats to our freedoms, privacy and security but also opportunities to use technology to find solutions to some of the world’s wicked problems.
TLPE explores the changes and challenges resulting from technological developments that could be addressed by the law, including emerging legal technology which can erode the possibility for human review and oversight, and technology that enables governments and private organisations to monitor our everyday moves.
Please note: 120 credit points of completed study in a Bachelor of Laws AND 108 credit points of completed core subjects in an LLB are prerequisites for this subject.
Assessment: A1 - Preparation, Participation and Collaboration (25%) A2 - Lightning Talk (10%) A3 - Article (nominally for submission to The Conversation) (25%) A4 - Take-home Exam 40%
Staff Contribution: Dr Genevieve Wilkinson (TPLE) explores the policy and ethical issues that arise from the impact that technology is having on the world, and the role of lawyers in shaping policy and protecting vulnerable populations. Students question whether law is keeping up with technology and the unique ethical challenges posed by technology. They work together to learn about technology through innovative assessments that reflect the ways that questions of technology law and policy are frequently explored and addressed. For students seeking to complete the Legal Futures and Technology major, it is the first capstone subject. As a capstone subject, TLPE brings together a range of different areas of law that you have studied in core subjects throughout your degree, as well as critical skills for young lawyers including using diverse communication skills, strengthening collaborative working approaches and developing competence in reflective practice.
Faculty experts who teach or research in Intellectual Property, Media and Technology: David Lindsay, Derek Wilding, Evana Wright, Genevieve Wilkinson, Honni Van Rijswijk, Isabella Alexander, Jane Rawlings, Maryam Tabari, Natalie Stoianoff Sasha.
