Duration
15h Th
Number of credits
| Advanced Master in European Law | 2 crédits |
Lecturer
Substitute(s)
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The objective of the course is to study the principal contracts that may be encountered in the vast field of intellectual property.
In the first part of the course, the three basic types of agreements that supersede the specific fields will be presented, namely the assignment of rights, licenses and contracts concerning conflict resolution (co-existence and settlement agreements).
Licenses, the principal instrument to exploit intellectual property will be considered in detail. Most notably, by discussing the essential clauses that must be present therein, but we will also disuss the consequences of "incidents" that may have an effect on the rights granted under the license (for example, the revocation of the underlying patent).
We will also mention the necessity to notify the agreements that concern rights which have been registered with intellectual property offices. We will consider the effects of a lack of such notification, most notably on counterfeit procedures.
In the second part of the course, certain contracts that are typical to specific economical sectors where intellectual property plays a central role will be examined.
First, the cultural sector will be dealt with, focusing on copyright and neighbouring rights. We will consider publishing contracts and, possibly, (audiovisual) production contracts , representation contracts, transfer of sport rights, etc.
Secondly, in the area of software, we will present development contracts, licensing contracts - including 'open source' licenses - and escrow agreements.
Finally, we will consider the field of technology. In this field attention will be given to research (and development) contracts, patent licensing, and licensing of non-patented know-how. In this field, the influence of competition law is considerable. Therefore, we will consider the block exemption regulations including its underlying logic.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The objective of the course is not only to familiarize the students with the world of contracts specific to intellectual property, but also to call upon their critical mind. Therefore, examples drawn from practice will be provided in order to invoke discussions about potentially ambiguous or missing clauses.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
A good understanding of the course supposes a basic knowlegde of contract law, either in Belgium or abroad as well as notions of intellectual property (which can be developed during the other courses of the master).
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course is oral and interactive. Reading of cases or examples of contracts provided by the professor, will be demanded from the students, in light of the discussions during the classes.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face to face learning, with recommended readings
Recommended or required readings
The readings will be provided during the course.
By way of reference, the students can consult the following works:
- B. Vanbrabant, La propriété intellectuelle, troisième partie, available at the IEJE library and on Orbi with autorisation;
- Jean-Christophe Lardinois, Les contrats commentés de l'industrie audiovisuelle. Cadre général et pratique contractuelle, available at the Graulich library;
- Sandrine Carneroli, Les contrats commentés du monde informatique. Logiciels, bases de données, multimédia, internet - Second edition.
Assesment based on small exercises given by the professor at the end of each class
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Prof: b.vanbrabant@uliege.be
Ass: dietger.glorieux@uliege.be