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:
- Understand the difference between patents, trademarks and copyrights and the fundamentals to protect, buy and sell ideas and intellectual property
- 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)
- 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
- Be able to assess what can and cannot be protected, and what rights the owner does and does not obtain
- Be able to critically analyze the business models generated by the new economy of the intangibles
Learning and teaching strategies
What you will do:
- Examination of individual court cases studies from famous trade marks infringements
- Formal lectures
- Visiting speakers/videos and workshops
- Seminars and teamworks
- Game and mock up sessions
Transferable skills
Students will develop:
- Assessment skills of legal requirements and business models
- Scenario interpretation and planning skills
- Interdisciplinary approach to traditional and new economies analysis
Assessment criteria
Students will:
- Mid written test: written exam testing the correct use of key legal terms and expressions (30%)
- Individual final project (70%)
Course materials
Handouts and case studies selected ad hoc.