LLM Intellectual Property Law

Course description

The LLM in Intellectual Property (IP) Law gives you an in-depth understanding of the law concerning intellectual property and patents in modern business.

Our IP experts take you through the economic, social and philosophical aspects of IP law development and you will be encouraged to critically analyse the current legal framework.

You will gain advanced knowledge in IP law and concomitant policy, and learn about national and international grant enforcement and defence of intellectual property rights on a multi-jurisdictional basis.

Aims

Our course aims are to develop your understanding of the law concerning intellectual property (IP) and patents in modern business. With experts in intellectual property law, you examine the economic, social and philosophical aspects of IP law development, advancing your knowledge in IP law and concomitant policy.

You will also learn about national and international grant, enforcement and defence of intellectual property rights on a multi-jurisdictional basis. You will connect the wider IP profession to important industry sectors such as life sciences, healthcare, communications and information technology.

Teaching and learning

We use various teaching methods across the course to enable you to participate in debate and hone the analytical and reasoning skills vital to legal and business professionals.

Coursework and assessment

Most course units are assessed by standard methods - either one unseen written examination, or one coursework essay, or a combination of these two methods of assessment. The assessment method of each individual course unit is listed in the course unit description on the website.

The course has a compulsory research component, you will have to submit a 14,000 to 15,000 word dissertation (60 credits). The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two designed to improve your legal writing and research skills. For specialised streams, your dissertation topic must be within those streams, for general LLM dissertation topics, your dissertation must be within one of your chosen course units.

Career opportunities

This master's course offers training for a professional career in IP law in a range of industries, such as life sciences, healthcare, communications and information technology sectors. It also allows the development of research skills for those wishing to pursue an academic career in IP law.