This module will cover the legal framework in which the entertainment and knowledge industries operate. The objective is to introduce the key features of the music, film, pharmaceutical, finance and toy industries to embrace a different way of studying copyright, design, trade mark and patent rights. It is an attempt to study law "in action", and to provide students with a capacity to understand how intellectual property rights are transacted, evaluated and litigated differently depending on the trade/industry. The module will study the complex interplay between law, commerce, culture and communications and identify how these connections make intellectual property licensing possible.
Total study hours: 200
Contact hours: 18
Private study hours: 182
LLM in (Specialisation); LLM in Law; PG Diploma in (Specialisation); PG Certificate in Law
Main assessment methods
Essay, 5000 words (100%)
Reassessment methods
Reassessment instrument: 100% Coursework
K Bowrey and M Handler (eds) Law and Creativity in the Age of the Entertainment Franchise (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
L Bently, J Davis and J Ginsburg (eds) Trade Marks and Brands. An interdisciplinary Critique (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
S Frith, Music and Copyright (Edinburgh University Press, 2nd ed, 2004)
S Lane, Trade mark legislation and the pharmaceutical industry (Office of Health Economics, 1999)
K Sunder Rajan (ed.) Lively Capital: Biotechnologies, Ethics and Governance in Global Markets (Duke University Press, 2012)
UN Round Table on Valuation and Capitalization of Intellectual Assets, Intellectual Assets: Valuation and Capitalization (United Nations, 2003)
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Identify and systematically understand the main practices of exploitation, evaluation and syndication of intellectual property rights,
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the main activities underpinning the business of intellectual property licensing, franchising
and bioprospecting,
3. Demonstrate a critical awareness and understanding of the tensions between industry practices and the state's support of intellectual
property law,
4. Critically examine and evaluate the role of music collecting societies in copyright law,
5. Critically examine and evaluate the way different industries are constituted by intellectual property rights,
6. Study the business practices associated with intellectual property rights,
7. Demonstrate a critical approach to the subject as well as promote expertise in intellectual property practices.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Present relevant knowledge and understanding in the form of an integrated, reasoned and persuasive argument through seminar
discussion and written assessment.
2. Identify and evaluate complex legal and policy problems according to their historical, political and cultural contexts.
3. Carry out advanced independent research, synthesising material from a variety of sources to inform a sustained and detailed argument.
4. Appreciate that legal forms arise and operate within complex economic and political conditions.
5. Demonstrate an independent and critical awareness of the economic, political and/or social implications of legal forms and remedies.
Stage 1
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