General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3215 |
| Course name: | Luxury Brands and Trademark Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Yes |
| Specialization: | Commercial, corporate and financial law |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 30 |
1.2 Course description
The luxury industry plays an important role in many contemporary western and eastern societies. Economically, it is estimated that the top 100 luxury goods companies generated sales of US$212 billion in 2015. Culturally, as status symbols, luxury goods function to define class, social distinction, and personal beliefs and values. This seminar explores the rise of luxury brands and the role of trademark law in creating, sustaining, and regulating this industry. It examines landmark cases concerning trademark protection of luxury brands. Moreover, the seminar discusses the social, cultural, and political dimensions of luxury brands. It critically considers the public interest and social concerns arising from this rapidly developing area of economy and law.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Haochen Sun | haochen.sun@hku.hk | CCT 307 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Demonstrate an understanding of modern luxury branding strategies and the challenges such strategies may pose to traditional trademark law and policy.
CLO 2 Describe and explain the role of trademark law in protecting luxury brands.
CLO 3 Critically consider the social, cultural and political issues associated with luxury brands.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | N/A | 20% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| One case commentary and one research paper | TBC | 80% | 1 | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/