Earn a qualifying law degree at your own pace with the àËÅöÊÓƵ LLB. Dating back to the 1890s, it's highly regarded worldwide.
Course
International and comparative law of trade marks, designs and unfair competition
Module information>
Trade marks and other distinctive signs act as a valuable tool in a competitive economy by denoting links between products and their sources. The source may be an actual geographical location or factory, a distributor or retailer, or even an advertiser. Trade marks convey information to consumers, competitors, and other market players. As well as word marks and logos other signs may be used to distinguish products, for example the appearance of goods or a jingle. In International and comparative law of trade marks, designs and unfair competition you will study the legal means by which the informative value of these signs is maintained. One means is by registration as a trade mark. However, the laws of different countries in their different ways have evolved other ways to protect signs against unfair competition. The concepts underlying these forms of protection and important international agreements are also discussed in the first part of this course.
Module A: The concepts of trade marks, designs and unfair competition
LWM28A
- Introduction to the concept of trade marks: a functional, legal, and economic analysis
- Introduction to unfair competition
- The history of trade marks
- Systems of protection; registered and unregistered trade marks
- International agreements: the Paris Convention; the World Trade Organization; International Registrations; regional agreements; European UnionTrade Mark (introduction); classification treaties; Trade Mark Law Treaty; appellations of origin; the Olympic symbols.
Module B: Unfair competition
LWM28B
- Systems of unfair competition: a comparative perspective
- Misrepresentation and misappropriation
- Unfair competition in the United Kingdom
- Unfair competition in the United States
- Unfair competition in France
- Unfair competition in Germany
- Other jurisdictions.
Module C: Registered trade marks
LWM28C
- Registered trade marks: a comparative perspective
- Systems of registration: first to file v. first to use
- Registered trade marks in Europe: the European Union Trade Mark; national registrations (United Kingdom; France; Germany); the role of the European Court of Justice
- Registered trade marks in the United States.
Module D: Special topics in trade marks
LWM28D
- Trade marks and domain names
- Industrial designs; relationship to other forms of protection; design rights; Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, as amended
- Appellations of origin
- Trade marks and competition: parallel imports; functionality and the interface between trade marks and other intellectual property rights; comparative advertising
- Cultural issues: advertising; character merchandising; symbols of indigenous communities.
Assessment
Each module is assessed by a 45-minute unseen written exam.
Sequence
It is strongly recommended that you attempt Module A first, and Module D last.
How to apply
You can apply to study a module individually as a standalone unit or as part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Laws qualification. (In either scenario, they must be studied in order.)
These modules also contribute towards the following specialist pathways for Laws:
- Commercial and Corporate Law
- Common Law
- Comparative and Foreign Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- International Business Law
- International Intellectual Property Law.
