LLAW6219 & JDOC6219

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code: LLAW6219 / JDOC6219
Course name: Patent Law
Programme offered under: LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester: Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
Credit point value: 9 credits / 6 credits

1.2 Course description

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are among the most important catalysts for growth and innovation in the modern economy. IPRs in particular patents – are worth billions if not trillions of dollars. What are patents and why are they so valuable This course will look at patents, first in the context of all IPRs, then will examine rights under a patent, criteria for patentability, and the processes of getting and challenging a patent. The class will also cover issues related to patent claims and will look at some current patent issues including:

Commercial dealings: ownership, licensing, assignments, employees inventions

Protection of discoveries

Patent infringement: Literal infringement and a comparison of UK and US treatment of non-literal patent infringement

Protection of information technology products and the controversy surrounding software patents

Design patents

Patents in biotechnology

1.3 Course teachers

Name E-mail address Office Consultation
Course convenor Ryan Whalen whalen@hku.hk CCT 815 By email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

CLO 1 Have a solid understanding of the requirements for obtaining a patent

CLO 2 Understand the patent prosecution process

CLO 3 Have learned about how patent infringement analysis is conducted in multiple jurisdictions

CLO 4 Have a practical understanding of how to manage and employ patent rights

CLO 5 Be aware of some of the practical issues of managing patents

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
CLO 5

Assessment(s)

3.1 Assessment Summary

Assessment task Due date Weighting Feedback method* Course learning outcomes
Class performance (presentation and participation) TBC 10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Quiz TBC 10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Patent drafting exercise TBC 30% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Take home exam TBC 50% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
*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

Lecture: 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/