Intellectual Property Law 

Sell or license your inventions and ideas in the liquid age
This course can be either offered in 6 weeks throughout 3 months, 10hrs per week and 15hrs in the final week to be conducted at BAU International Berlin, BAU International University Washington DC or at BAU Bahcesehir University Istanbul for a total amount of 6 ECTS credits; or concentrated in 30hrs over 10 days for a full immersion in Intellectual Property Rights for a total amount of 4 ECTS credits, that can be combined with either Competition Law or Legal English. 

LECTURES: 60 
TUTORIALS: 15 
SELF DIRECTED STUDY, GROUP DISCUSSION, INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH: 75
 


WEEK 1

  • Historical and philosophical background about the value of intangibles 
  • Managing intellectual property in a knowledge-based society 
  • Value of innovation and value of protection 
  • Commons and anti-commons
  • Overview of the new business models enabled by intangible assets
  • Intellectual capital and intellectual property. Economic and Financial value of IP rights


WEEK 2

  • Legal fundamentals to design patents for useful inventions 
  • Legal fundamentals of copyright protection 
  • Legal fundamentals of trademark and trade secret protection (national, european, international with a focus on the requirements and application limits in the new emerging economies) 


WEEK 3

  • Requirements and limits of patentability 
  • The Legal requirement of novelty 
  • The dilemma first to invent vs first to file invention
  • The legal requirement of non-obviousness
  • Knowledge and information, invention and un-invention
  • Judicial exceptions


WEEK 4

  • The process of applying for a patent, the art of drafting patent claims, actions and remedies for patent infringements 
  • Patent licensing, anti-commons in practice and non-competition agreements 
  • Rights and obligations among co-inventors, coauthors, employers, and licensees


WEEK 5

  • IP due diligence and the strategic decision to buy 
  • Due diligence checklist
  • Most frequent Issues of ownership
  • Structuring license agreements
  • Representations and warranties
  • Granting exclusivity and royalty structures


WEEK 6

  • Antitrust issues in technology transfer 
  • Vertical agreements and antitrust rules
  • The European discipline of block exemption
  • Regulation 772 and the antitrust guidelines
  • Comparison with the U.S. 
     


Intended learning outcomes 
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Understand the difference between patents, trademarks and copyrights and the fundamentals to protect, buy and sell ideas and intellectual property
  2. Identify the additional issues that new technologies have raised in the field of intellectual property law, with practical applications to specific sectors (such as Music, Entertainment, Cinema) 
  3. Understand the principles of patent, trademarks and copyrights registration and exploitation in a global market of open innovation, taking into account ethical limits, barriers and regulations imposed by specific markets, through case studies focused on the new emerging economies
  4. Be able to assess what can and cannot be protected, and what rights the owner does and does not obtain
  5. Be able to critically analyze the business models generated by the new economy of the intangibles 


Learning and teaching strategies 
What you will do: 

  1. Examination of individual court cases studies from famous trade marks infringements 
  2. Formal lectures
  3. Visiting speakers/videos and workshops
  4. Seminars and teamworks
  5. Game and mock up sessions


Transferable skills 
Students will develop: 

  1. Assessment skills of legal requirements and business models 
  2. Scenario interpretation and planning skills 
  3. Interdisciplinary approach to traditional and new economies analysis 


Assessment criteria 
Students will: 

  1. Mid written test: written exam testing the correct use of key legal terms and expressions (30%) 
  2. Individual final project (70%) 


Course materials 
Handouts and case studies selected ad hoc.