Scientific research is increasingly being influenced by the demand sof commercialisation.  Intellectual property and other legal aspects of commercialisation have become a crucial element in the initiation, process and application of scientific research.  This course will cover the fundamental principles of intellectual property including confidential information, patents and trademarks with some consideration of copyright and designs.  It will also outline some of the other legal areas concerned with commercialising intellectual property, such as licensing and organisational governance.  The course will also consider the possible role of intellectual property in retricting the development of new scientific understanding and dissemination of knowledge with a particular emphasis on biotechnology.

The principles of intellectual property will be applied to the development and protection of new research.  There will be a consideration of the intellectual property issues relating to a number of different areas of reesearch including biotechnology, but other areas of interest, including individual areas of specialisation, may also be explored.

By the end of the course students will have been provided with the opportunity to learn how to:

• identify, apply and assess issues relating to each of the relevant areas of intellectual property in various fields of scientific research
• recognise the choices that are involved with the protection of intellectual property and understand the issues confronted in each choice
• understand the potential role of ownership rights and marketing protection in encouraging, or discouraging, scientific research.

The assessment of this course is likely to involve at least two components, including a compulsory exam and essay or presentation components. There is also likely to be a class participation component depending on class size. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available on the course web page before the first week of semester.

This class will involve 2-3 hours of class contact each week and up to 8 hours of reading and associated exercises to be completed out of class.

This is a six unit Group E course offered by the ANU College of Law for students with no prior law knowledge.

Information about prescribed texts and other reading materials will be available in the course outline and the course web page.  There will be extensive course notes and other on-line materials provided.

This course will not count towards the Bachelor of Science (Psychology) or Bachelor of Science (Forestry) component of combined programs. The course is not offered to law students; it is specially designed for non-law students.

This is a compulsory course in the Bachelor of Biotechnology and other science students can take this course.  However, it will not be classed as a science course, ie it will not count towards the Group C science requirement of your degree.  Instead, it will be classed as an out of Faculty course.