Duration
30h Th, 15h Pr
Number of credits
| Specialised master in European law | 4 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course on patent law gives an introduction to the topics that are essential for a patent law practitioner today. The course will be taught from October until early December 2019. The class topics are as follows (minor amendments are possible): - Introduction - Patentable subject matter - Patentability of biotechnological inventions - Validity: Novelty, inventive step, industrial application, sufficiency, added matter - Direct infringement, literal and by equivalence - Indirect infringement - The Unitary Patent (to be confirmed, in function of Brexit developments) - Defenses to infringement - Procedural aspects: prosecution, challenge and enforcement of patents - Sector peek 1: telecommunications - the smartphone patent wars - Sector peek 2: life sciences - pharma patents and SPCs, pharma sector inquiry and CJEU case law - Review and questions This year, we also welcome a guest speaker from the industry who will address a number of patent-related topics from his unique perspective.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
///
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
In addition to the 10 classes on patent law, there will be 15 hours of practical classes with exercises that familiarize students with the practical application of the legal principles of patent law. These practical classes are graded separately. What is discussed during these classes will not be tested during the oral examination in January.
The grade awarded for the practical classes counts in the overall grade for the patent law course.
Recommended or required readings
The course will be taught by means of slides. These slides will be circulated before each class. Students are expected to study everything that was explained during the classes.
Additional reading materials may be assigned for a better understanding of the topics discussed. These materials will be circulated before class or will be freely available on the internet.
Before the end of the course, students will receive a list of all legal texts they are allowed to use during the examination in January 2020. This list will contain all relevant legal texts discussed during the course.
Students can highlight and underline these texts with markers in different colors, but they cannot write on the texts or use post-its.
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam in January 2020 will be oral, with a combination of theoretical questions based on the classes and a practical case study to be analyzed. The exam is closed book; only the legal texts described above can be used. We will also include one or more questions relating to the material presented by the guest speaker from the industry. Practical classes In addition to the 30 hours of theoretical classes on patent law, there will be 15 hours of practical classes with exercises that familiarize students with the practical application of the legal principles of patent law. These practical classes are graded separately. What is discussed during these classes will not be tested during the oral examination in January 2020. The grade awarded for the practical classes does count in the overall grade for the patent law course.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Contacts
caroline.langevin@uliege.be