LLAW6195 & JDOC6195

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code: LLAW6195 / JDOC6195
Course name: Intellectual Property and Competition in the Digital Economy
Programme offered under: LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester: Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
Credit point value: 9 credits / 6 credits

1.2 Course description

Technological advances in the online world pose important challenges for legislators, authorities and courts to accomplish the promotion of innovation, efficiency and growth. This course provides an introduction to the most important legal regimes fostering innovation and their relationship to competition. Students will acquire basic knowledge of the evolving EU copyright law rules as well as selected aspects of design and trademark law in view of new technologies (streaming services, AI and metaverse technologies, digital platforms) and will connect these issues to a range of basic controversies relating to the manner in which markets operate and the implications of these regimes for different notions of innovation.

Some course readings and discussions will compare the way in which different markets (consumer goods markets, art markets, etc.) function and will explore topics such as the ongoing shift from the tangible towards an increasingly intangible economy. The problems discussed will be exemplified by cases from European legal practice. Some comparative analysis of the covered materials with US case law offers an opportunity to explore key dimensions of intellectual property law, its relationship to competition and its potential for re-adjustment of pertinent legal rules and their enforcement in a digitalized economy.

1.3 Course teachers

Name E-mail address Office Consultation
Course convenor Adrian Kuenzler kuenzler@hku.hk N/A By email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

CLO 1 Describe and explain the various intellectual property law regimes and their relation to competition.

CLO 2 Understand the regulatory issues concerning the promotion of innovation.

CLO 3 Apply the knowledge and understanding of regulating innovation to different market settings.

CLO 4 Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of key debates surrounding new digital technologies within the broader economic and socio-cultural context.

2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Please refer to the following link:

LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/

JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-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
CLO 4

Assessment(s)

3.1 Assessment Summary

Assessment task Due date Weighting Feedback method* Course learning outcomes
Class participation N/A 20% 1, 2, 3, 4
Case commentary TBC 30% 1, 2, 3, 4
Take home exam TBC 50% 1, 2, 3, 4
*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/