This course will cover the principal international institutions dealing with substantive IP law, current international debates, and the practice of WTO dispute settlement. Topics include:
- The international framework for intellectual property law
- Background to WIPO and the WTO TRIPS Agreement
- Intellectual property as an international issue in relation to trade, development, technology transfer, the environment, and human rights
- The law and practice of the WTO TRIPS Agreement
- Current international responses to intellectual property issues Harmonisation and diversity in national intellectual property law
This course considers a number of key issues of the debate over intellectual property and development, including:
- the WIPO Development Agenda;
- the World Trade Organization and the TRIPS Agreement;
- bilateral and regional TRIPS-Plus Agreements, and the proposed Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
- the WIPO Copyright Treaties, access to knowledge (A2K) and the Creative Commons;
- trade mark law, geographical indications, Fair Trade labels, and other certification schemes;
- The Doha Declaration, the TRIPS Waiver, the WHO Global Strategy, and access to essential medicines
- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, intellectual property and climate change;
- The Convention on Biological Diversity, access to genetic resources, and traditional knowledge; and
The UPOV Convention, the FAO Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources, agricultural intellectual property and food security.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
This unit will examine intellectual property law from an international perspective, ranging from current international policy debates on development, biotechnology, genetic resources and electronic commerce, to international dispute settlement under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. It is expected that students will have on completion of the unit:
- An understanding of the history and comparative roles of the various elements of the international system which deal with intellectual property law
- A capacity to analyse international policy issues concerning intellectual property, and the manner in which various international negotiations and institutions deal with these issues
- A comprehensive knowledge of the issues concerning intellectual property and development
- An understanding of the interaction between intellectual property law and legal mechanisms on trade, environment, and human rights
- A practical grasp of the jurisprudence and procedure of the application of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to intellectual property disputes
Familiarity with emerging issues and issues under negotiation, including those concerned with access to knowledge, biotechnology, climate change, trade marks and geographical indications, access to genetic resources, and the protection of traditional knowledge.
Indicative Assessment
In keeping with the approach of the course, students can choose a topic in their area of interest or in consultation with the convenor.
Compulsory Research Essay. Word length: 6,000 to 8,000 words.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
26 Contact Hours (Intensive Delivery)
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
Jeremy de Beer, (ed.) Implementing the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Development Agenda (Ottawa, Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2009).
Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development Policy (London: United Kingdom Government, 2002).
Daniel Gervais, (ed), Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Strategies to Optimize Economic Development in a TRIPS-Plus Era (2007); and
Amy Kapczynski, ‘The Access to Knowledge Mobilization and the New Politics of Intellectual Property’ (2008) 117 Yale Law Journal 804-885
Thomas Pogge, Matthew Rimmer and Kim Rubenstein, (ed.) Incentives for Global Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Medicines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, (forthcoming), http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521116565
Neil Weinstock Netanel (ed.) The Development Agenda: Global Intellectual Property and Developing Countries (2008)
World Intellectual Property Organization. 45 Recommendations under the World Intellectual Property Organization Development Agenda. Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization, 2007, http://www.wipo.int/ip-development/en/agenda/recommendations.html#c
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $2958 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4146 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
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