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 | 18 Mar 2024 | 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/