Copyright

Duration

20h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Julien Cabay

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Copyright is a an exclusive Intellectual Property right that gives protection to any expression, provided it is original.

The copyright law class aims at presenting the whole copyright law, including protection of computer programs and databases. The class addresses international law, European Union law and Belgian law, focusing on these last two. Emphasis is put on the case law of the Court of justice of the European Union.   
The class is orangized with seven lessons (subject to change ; a lesson may be taucht on two classes):

• General introduction
• The subject matter of copyright law
• The scope of protection
• The rights of the author
• Exceptions and limitations to copyright
• Ownership/Contracts/Duration/Enforcement
• Other forms of protection/Evolution and trends in EU law

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of the course, the students should be able to:

• Identify and apply the appicable rules
• Understand their functioning and rationale
• Criticize their underpinnings and application

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

There are no prerequisites for this course.
It is nonetheless recommended that students have a basic understanding of intellectual property law and European substantive law.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The class is given in a mixed form, combining ex cathedra lessons and interactive lessons.
In order to prepare some lessons ant to allow their full participation, students are required to read case law, in particlar decisions from the belgian courts and the Court of justice of the European Union. Additional readings might be propsoed to the students, if needed.
Discussions during the lessons are complentary to the written material and are useful (ventually necessary) in order to hully understand the class.
A collection of texts (statutes, case law) is provided to the students.
 
 

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

The course is face-to-face supplemented by readings at home.

Recommended or required readings

Suggested reading (not compulsory) :  J. Cabay, V. Delforge, V. Fossoul, M. Lambrecht, 20 ans de nouveau droit d'auteur - 20 jaar nieuw auteursrecht, Limal, Anthemis, 2015, 402 p.
Compulsory readings : they are communicated during the class.
Material for the class : the Powerpoint presentations during the class are the basic material. They should be completed with oral presentations during the lessons.

Assessment methods and criteria

The evaluation will take the form of an oral examination. An active participation of the students during the lessons is taken into account in the final evaluation.
Recommandation for the exam (subject to change):

• Exam is based on the content of the Powerpoint presentation completed with discussions during the oral lessons.
• Examination is oral and will last about 30 minutes with previously about 30 minutes for preparation. Exam is in two parts.
• In the first part, the student will present a core concept of copyright law in a structured way and with appropriate references. Knowledge and structuring abilities will be decisive. 
• In the second part, starting from an excerpt of a court's decision, the student will be asked various questions related to this excerpt. Analyzing skills, application and critical thought will be decisive.
• At the exam, the student will have access to some of the material (statutes, case law). He/she will not have access to the Powerpoint presentations.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

The course is scheduled every year in the second term.
In 2018, it will be held Mondays from 10:30am to 1pm.

Contacts

Titulaire : Julien Cabay (jcabay@ulg.ac.be ; jcabay@ulb.ac.be)