Intellectual Property & Competition Law

The Intellectual Property and Competition Law elective is designed to introduce these two topics in a practical context. Intellectual Property Law and Competition Law are complementary subjects and in practice they often occur in the same transaction. Intellectual Property issues in particular are becoming increasingly common in most medium to large commercial practices and can also be found in small niche practices. This elective is of particular relevance to those students wishing to undertake training contracts in City firms or in large to medium sized provincial firms.

The elective will cover:

• The protection of inventions, including patents and the protection of confidential information
• The protection of aesthetic/artistic creations, including copyright and design rights
• The protection of brands and the reputations of commercial undertakings, including trade marks and passing off
• Consideration of the overlap between Intellectual Property and EU law
• European competition law, including consideration of Articles 81 and 82 and the European merger control regime
• UK competition law, including consideration of Chapters I and II of the Competition Act 1998 and the merger control regime under the Enterprise Act 2002

The elective will be taught through a variety of practical exercises, designed to enable students to understand the basic legal principles and practical issues involved in the Intellectual Property and Competition Law matters they are likely to encounter in a commercial practice

The elective complements and links very well with the Commercial Law elective. It also works well with the Media and Entertainment Law elective, the Mergers and Acquisitions elective and any other commercial elective such as the Commercial Litigation, Commercial Property or Employment electives

The content of the full-time and part-time course is identical, but they are structured differently.