Intellectual property rights support innovation through the offer of a temporary 'monopoly’ to creators and inventors. However, such rights can also impede competition and downstream innovation. Poorly designed intellectual property rules can help rights holders obstruct new players by impeding their access to technology and content. A carefully designed and dynamic intellectual property system can, by contrast, promote competition and enable follow-on innovation. The interaction of intellectual property and competition law is especially crucial here. Taught by two experts in the fields of competition law and intellectual property, this subject examines how competition law regulates intellectual property and vice versa. Relevant Australian and comparable law will be examined, along with case studies in topical areas such as platform liability, big data, file-sharing and luxury brands.

This subject provides an examination of the interface between the legal property rights created by intellectual property statutes and at common law, and the body of law that controls and regulates anti-competitive practices.

Principal topics include:

• Policy goals of intellectual property and competition law
• Regulatory approaches and law reform
• Limitations and controls placed over the grant, subsistence, scope and infringement of intellectual property rights under statutory and common law regimes
• Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)
• Dealings in intellectual property under intellectual property and competition statutes.
• Statutory and compulsory licensing, and remedies

The subject explores this Australian intellectual property regime in predominantly black-letter terms. It asks students to consider the doctrinal issues implicated by the various aspects of copyright law: subsistence, ownership, infringement, exceptions to infringement and remedies. Also integrated with the curriculum are moral and performers' rights, and the treatment of internet service provider liability as an intermediary between copyright owner and infringer. The subject is structured within an international framework, explaining the importance of treaty norms and with selective use of comparative law.

Principal topics include:

• The evolution and theory of the national and international copyright system
• The material protected by copyright
• The duration of protection
• The rights granted by copyright
• Infringement of copyright, including defences and available remedies
• Ownership, licensing and assignment of copyright
• Moral rights and their infringement
• Copyright law in international perspective.

Design plays a critical role in the production and marketing of goods. Adequate protection of designs is important in order to encourage the creation of innovative products and thus enhance the Australian and New Zealand economies. This subject is primarily concerned with the laws in both countries. It will focus first on the registered regimes for protecting designs under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth) and parts of the Designs Act 1906 (Cth), as well as the protection of designs as original artistic works under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). It will then deal with the differences of law and practice that arise under the Designs Act 1953 (NZ) and the Copyright Act 1994 (NZ).

This subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group I’.

Principal topics include:

• Registrable designs: definition of design and registrability requirements
• Application and registration procedures and Designs Office practice
• Duration of registration and removal procedures
• Registration, examination, certification and infringement
• Defences to, and remedies for, infringement
• Validity and infringement of designs registered under the Designs Act 1906 (Cth)
• Ownership, transfer and exploitation of design rights
• Rectification and correction of the Register
• Artistic works protected by copyright and the designs/copyright overlap
• Relationship of designs protection to innovation patents under the Patents Act 1990
• The treatment of registered designs under New Zealand law and the availability of copyright protection for designs under New Zealand law
• International conventions and the protection of designs.

International trade is being transformed by the globalisation of the internet and the ability to move data across borders. Small businesses and firms in developing countries are using internet platforms such as eBay and Alibaba to engage in international trade. Software, music and books that used to be traded physically are now being transmitted digitally across borders; lawyers, consultants and other professional services are using the internet to reach new markets. Data analytics and cloud computing have become essential tools for firms in domestic and international markets.

This subject will examine the impact of the internet and global data flows on international trade. Students will learn about the varied and innovative ways that the internet and data enable international economic activity. Students will look at how government regulation in areas such as privacy and national security affects digital trade and will examine the balance between achieving these goals and maximising opportunities for trade, growth and jobs. Students will learn about the extent to which international trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement support an open internet and global data flows; will identify gaps in law and practice; and will analyse where new global norms and rules are needed. Special topics covered may include: the opportunities of digital trade for developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); challenges posed by the 'Internet of Things' and privacy regulation; and digital trade and national security.

Joshua P Meltzer is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies where he teaches international trade law. He is a leading scholar on digital trade issues, consults governments, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum and was appointed an expert witness in digital trade and privacy litigation.

Principal topics include:

• Overview of the globalisation of the internet including global trends in internet access and use
• The economics of the internet - students will learn how internet access and global data flows are improving productivity, enabling innovation and expanding opportunities for global engagement
• What is the impact of the internet and data flows on international trade? This will include the role of digital platforms and the increasing importance of digital services trade
• What are the barriers to digital trade, who is erecting them and why? Students will learn about the regulatory challenges to digital trade in areas of consumer protection, financial and privacy laws and the different approaches being taken in the European Union, the United States and Australia, and consider how to achieve domestic regulatory goals while maximising digital trade
• Applying international trade law to digital trade issues and identifying the legal gaps - students will analyse where existing international trade rules apply to digital trade issues. This will include analysis of WTO agreements and cases as well as new trade rules in free trade agreements. Gaps in trade law will be identified and students will consider whether new trade rules and norms are needed and where they can be negotiated.

Fundamentals of Intellectual Property provides a good introduction to intellectual property (IP) for students wishing to pursue more specialised graduate studies in this area. It also provides a general overview of IP law for students who are seeking this as part of an overall commercial and trade law program.

The objective of this subject is to provide an introduction to, and general overview of, the various Australian and New Zealand legal regimes protecting IP. IP laws, including those with respect to patents, designs and copyright, are directed at the encouragement and protection of innovations in science, technology and cultural products. They also operate, through the laws of trade marks and unfair competition, to provide protection for the later stages of development at which these innovations are disseminated and marketed. There is a potential for conflict between these laws and competition laws, and this interface will be discussed, together with an introduction to the international framework of treaties under which the owners of IP rights (IPRs) from one country can seek protection in another.

Completion of the first day of this subject (Overview of Intellectual Property one day seminar) meets the requirements of the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for ‘Topic Group A2’.

Note: If you enrol in Fundamentals of Intellectual Property (LAWS90125), you do not need to enrol in Overview of Intellectual Property.

Principal topics include:

• Introduction to the concept of and rationales for IPRs
• Models used for the protection of IP (the patent model, the copyright model and variations of both)
• Patents for invention, including:
  • Registration process
  • Subject matter
  • Conditions for protection
  • Exclusive rights and infringement
  • Defences
  • Innovation patents
• Protection of confidential information and trade secrets under general law
• Registered designs
• Copyright and allied rights, including:
  • Subject matter protected - works and other subject matter
  • Conditions for protection
  • Duration
  • Exclusive rights
  • Exceptions
  • Licensing and exploitation
• Trade marks and unfair competition
  • Protection for unregistered marks and other indicia through common law and equity
  • Protection for registered marks
• Sui generis regimes of protection: geographic indications, plant breeder's rights, circuit layouts and other systems of protection
• International treaty framework for IPRs
• IPRs and competition law.

This subject teaches students the fundamental principles and basic skills of drafting patent specifications. It does so through a combination of in-class instruction sessions on a range of topics, in-class drafting exercises with review sessions, and out-of-class drafting exercises with tutorial review sessions. Students are assessed by two practical assessment tasks, undertaken individually outside the classroom. Passing the subject will satisfy the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for Topic Group G: Drafting patent specifications. The lecturers for this subject include a number of practising patent attorneys with substantial experience teaching drafting skills.

Principal topics include:

• History and nature of specifications and claims
• Approaches to claim drafting
• Interpreting claims
• Drafting basic claims
• Drafting product claims with reference to prior art
• Drafting process and method claims
• Preparing a description
• Consequences of drafting.

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM), which is compulsory for graduates in disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer

Principal topics include:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.

Information technology is critical to almost all modern organisations and processes. The development, acquisition and use of such technology raises a myriad of complex legal issues extending beyond conventional contractual issues and includes ownership rights, rights of use and risk management. This subject explores those issues with a particular emphasis on contracting and intellectual property issues associated with the development and sourcing of information technology products and services. Both lecturers are information technology lawyers with extensive practical experience acting for both providers and purchasers of such products and services.

Principal topics include:

• Overview of information technology and the Australian information technology development industry
• Roles and relationships of the various parties to information technology agreements
• Copyright protection afforded to technology products and services, including online products and services
• Open source licensing arrangements
• Patent protection afforded to information technology products and services
• Employees and contractor rights and obligations in the context of the creation and development of information technology
• Software creation, development and exploitation
• Network management, security and maintenance
• Cloud services: risks and liability
• Database and content management issues
• Privacy issues associated with the development and use of information technology goods and services
• Risk allocation and management of information technology contracts (including insurance and escrow arrangements).

Intellectual property (IP) occupies a central, if actively contested, place in international trade relations. The world's two largest trading nations, China and the United States, are seemingly at loggerheads over how effectively IP should be protected. Australia recently defended its tobacco plain packaging measures against complaints from four developing nations over how to reconcile IP protection with the pursuit of the wider policy goal of public health. Disputes over IP now seem inevitable, as the interests lying behind this once recondite, technical area come to the fore in assessments of national economic and policy interests. But will these disputes be managed within the framework of the rule of law, or does economic and political power ultimately prevail? This is not a new question. From the mid 1980s, a growing perception that inadequate or unbalanced IP protection was undercutting the economic interests of major economies made disputation about IP inevitable. The resulting tensions were a critical factor behind the inclusion of IP standards in the World Trade Organization (WTO) system of multilateral trade law, in the form of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). Rather than resolving disputes over IP protection through bilateral wrangling and unilateral pressure, the rule of law would be applied in a predictable, transparent and equitable way through the multilateral dispute settlement mechanism maintained by the WTO, building on the major conventions separately administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Yet TRIPS was followed by a sharp rise in the conclusion of bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements that establish alternative or complementary sets of standards on IP and mechanisms to resolve IP disputes. The result is an intricate array of overlapping substantive standards and parallel forums for dispute settlement. And the very notion of settling disputes with reference to a stable and agreed body of law faces a direct challenge. This subject enables the student to navigate this complex legal landscape and to deal with its consequences from the point of view of dispute settlement practice, from the perspective of legal principle and public policy impact, and in terms of international governance and the management of trade and political relations. This will cover key international cases, strategies for treaty interpretation and approaches to reconciling IP protection with other policy imperatives and with other legal and regulatory systems.

The lecturer offers insights from extensive experience as a senior official in both the WTO and WIPO, as an Australian official engaged in litigation and negotiation, as practitioner of IP law, and as a legal and policy analyst and scholar.

Principal topics include:

• A practical anatomy of international intellectual property conventions, standards and institutions, from the creation of the major multilateral systems within WIPO and the WTO, to the current trend towards bilateral and regional deals
• The political economy of international intellectual property: the economic, political and technological factors driving disputation over IP and the creation of competing dispute settlement mechanisms, and the contemporary challenges for the continuing rule of law as the basis for containing and resolving disputes
• The core principles of international IP law: IP principles and the idea of 'balance', the preservation of 'space’ for domestic law and policy, the integration of trade law and public policy principles into international IP law, and integrating human rights perspective into readings of IP conventions.
• The distinctive features of international IP dispute settlement: cause of action, sources of law, remedies and challenges for treaty interpretation
• Dispute settlement practice and emerging TRIPS Agreement jurisprudence under the WTO: a survey of TRIPS disputes and the use of TRIPS in cross retaliation, and a close analysis of landmark disputes, including the recent tobacco plain packaging cases
• The evolving architecture of bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements covering IP: the practical implications for treaty interpretation, for the initiation, management and settlement of IP disputes in multiple fora, and for domestic law and policy
• Compliance and monitoring of compliance: the institutional mechanisms, and the sources of information for practitioners and government officials, for legal and policy analysts and for scholars.

Over the past two decades, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) globally has become a major issue both for right holders and users, and one that has had profound implications in a number of important areas of public discourse, such as international trade, public health, education and research, national development and the promotion of biodiversity. This subject seeks to engage with all these issues, and begins with a discussion of the sources of international intellectual property (IP) law, including the principal IP treaties and the general architecture of the international IP system. It then considers a number of case studies where particular IP issues arise and where international solutions are presently being negotiated. It will also examine the growing tension between the territoriality of IPRs and the global scope of IP exploitation, considering how this clash plays out in the key area of private international law. Both lecturers have had extensive experience in international intellectual property matters, and bring to the subject both academic and practical perspectives that add greatly to its interest and relevance.

This subject consists of a survey of the economic, legal and political elements and forces that shape the international IP system.

Principal topics include:

• Introduction to the international IP system, including the main producers and owners of IP, the institutional architecture and the treaty system, including those administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization (notably the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), and the emergence of bilateral and regional trade and investment protection treaties that have an impact on the protection of IP rights
• Instruments and strategies for obtaining protection internationally—the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid System, Hague System and regional systems
• Human rights, IP and the development agenda
• IPRs and public health
• IPRs and food security
• Biotechnology, access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge
• Access to knowledge
• The protection of names, marks and other identifiers and content, with particular reference to the internet
• Dispute settlement and private international law issues.

International Legal Internship allows students to gain credit for undertaking advanced legal research and analysis on an approved international internship of at least eight weeks of full-time work in an approved international institution or organisation. This subject is focused on providing students with an opportunity to engage with legal and policy issues in contemporary society through work experience and further develop oral and written communication skills. Students are required to secure and fund their internships personally.

Students are encouraged to discuss their internship proposals with the subject coordinators. Students who successfully enrol in International Legal Internship must arrange a meeting with at least one of the subject coordinators both prior to their internship and upon completion, to develop a better understanding of research and the role of international institutions in international law and relations.

Reading and interpreting patent specifications is a central part of a patent attorney's daily practice. It is also a critical feature of any patent litigation where both sides will be competing for alternative interpretations that favour their client. This subject is intended to hone these skills of analysis and interpretation, working on the basic legal principles that students seeking Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB)accreditation have already obtained through their study of patent law and patent practice. It is taught by experienced attorneys and litigators, and meets the TTIPAB requirements for 'Topic Group H'.

This subject will be conducted with a number of case studies carried out by a team of practitioners to develop skills in the application of the rules of interpretation to patent specifications and in the application of Australian and New Zealand patent laws.

Principal topics include:

• The validity of Australian and New Zealand patents and patent applications under the provisions of Australian and New Zealand laws concerned with support, sufficiency of description and utility
• The validity of Australian and New Zealand patents and patent applications in the light of prior art information supplied, including through prior published specifications and prior user
• The scope for making amendments to patent applications
• The infringement of Australian and New Zealand patents by a competitor's product or process.

Technology transfer is a term used to describe the process by which skills, knowledge and intellectual property rights are moved from one person or organisation to another. Governments and businesses around the world now recognise the fundamental importance of innovation and the commercialisation of new technologies to economic prosperity. Here, technology transfer and in particular intellectual property licensing have a vital role. This subject looks at the legal and commercial issues relevant to technology transfer, with a focus on intellectual property licensing and the negotiation of licence agreements. The subject also includes the licensing of trade marks and software.

The subject lecturers have worked in the field of technology transfer for many years and bring practical perspectives to the topics covered.

Principal topics include:

• Licensing of:
  • Patents and know-how
  • Trade marks, including franchise agreements
  • Copyright, including computer software
• Impact of competition laws
• Payments and taxes
• Contractual and commercial issues
• Negotiation of licence agreements.

For at least 400 years, patent law has been the primary regulatory mechanism for optimising innovation. With more than two million patent applications filed annually around the world, the patent system is both highly complex and of great economic importance. This subject provides the foundational knowledge necessary for a professional understanding of patent law and the patent system. It does so through a combination of instructional sessions and hands-on workshop sessions. These provide students with a detailed understanding of the principles of patent law, with a particular focus on the requirements for the grant of a valid patent, and for infringement of a patent, under Australian and New Zealand law. In the workshop sessions, students apply the principles of patent validity and patent infringement to actual prior art, patent claims and infringing embodiments. The focus of teaching will be on Australian law, with the differences between this and New Zealand law identified and explored throughout the delivery of the subject. Successful completion of this subject satisfies the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for ‘Topic Group E’.

Principal topics include:

• Rationales for and alternatives to patents
• Trade secrets protection (breach of confidence)
• Patentable subject matter
• Requirements for patentability – novelty, inventive step and utility
• Specification requirements – clarity, support, disclosure and best method
• Fraud, false suggestion and misrepresentation
• Infringement, defences and remedies
• Inventorship, entitlement and ownership
• Duration and commercialisation of patent rights
• Future of the patent system.

This subject follows on from Patent Law (which is a prerequisite) and provides students with the basic knowledge and skills required for the filing, prosecution and maintenance of an application for protection under the Australian and New Zealand patents legislation, for both local and international inventions. The lecturers are a team of experienced patent attorneys and patent lawyers. The subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for 'Topic Group F’.

Principal topics include:

• Australian patent legislation and practice
  • Patents Act 1990; Patents Regulations 1991
  • Kinds of patent application: provisional, complete, standard, divisional, patent of addition, PCT national phase, convention, and innovation
  • Patent application filing and prosecution: searching, filing, examination, opposition, grounds, practice and procedures, grant and re-examination
  • Amendment of patent specifications and other documents: allowable amendments, clerical errors and obvious mistakes
  • Duration of patent protection: continuation and renewal fee requirements, lapsing and cessation, restoration of rights and extensions of term for pharmaceutical patents
  • The Register of Patents: recordal of assignments, licences, mortgages and changes of name and amendments to the Register
• New Zealand patent legislation and practice
  • Patent Act 1953 and Patent Act 2013; Patent Regulation 1954 and Patent Regulation 2014
  • Key practice differences from Australia including transitional provisions between 1953 and 2013 Acts, patentability exclusions, divisional practice, examination deadlines, double patenting, poisonous priority, self-collision, and prosecution strategy
  • Patent practice: kinds of patent application, filing, examination, opposition, grounds, practice and procedures, grant and re-examination, amendment of patent specifications, continuation and renewal fee requirements, restoration of rights, recordal of assignments, licences, mortgages, and changes of name
• International conventions and agreements
• Patentability overseas
• Basic considerations of United States and European patent law
• Applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, filing applications, international phase and entry of national and regional phase
• Circuit layouts legislation (Circuit Layouts Act 1989 (Cth))
• Plant breeder's rights legislation (Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 (Cth))

This subject builds on the material covered in the Trade Marks and Unfair Competition subject. Trade Mark Practice focusses on the procedures and practices of the Australian Trade Marks Office in obtaining and maintaining registered trademarks, and with the relevant aspects of New Zealand trade mark procedures and practice where these are different from those in Australia. This subject is thus particularly valuable for students wishing to prosecute trade mark applications through those offices. The rights, privileges and responsibilities of a patent attorney and a trade marks attorney are also covered in the wider context of attorneys’ professional conduct. The lecturers in the subject have extensive experience in the obtaining of trade mark registrations and the subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group B’ and ‘Topic Group D’.

The emphasis of this subject is on the documentation, procedures and practice of the Australian Trade Marks Office and the relevant aspects of New Zealand trade marks procedure and practice.

Principal topics include:

• The respective national offices, registers and official journals
• Determining the availability of a trade mark for use and registration, searching the Trade Marks Office database and other search options
• Applications for registration, including Madrid Protocol, Convention, divisional and series applications
• Examination and acceptance of applications
• Opposition to registration
• Initiating and opposing applications to remove a trade mark for non-use
• Amendment of applications and other documents; revocation post-registration
• Obtaining registration and renewal of registration
• Obtaining extensions of time
• New Zealand trade mark practice (relevant issues)
• Exploitation, including assignments and registration of security interests
• Parallel importations and Customs seizure
• International conventions and initiatives, and protecting trade marks in foreign countries
• The rights, privileges and professional responsibilities of a patent or trade mark attorney.

This subject is concerned with the laws in Australia and New Zealand that protect trade marks. Trade marks play a pivotal role in the marketing of goods and services, and generally are one of a trader‘s most valuable assets. The protection of trade marks is thus of critical importance to all traders but is also important to consumers, who rely on the information conveyed by trade marks. This subject concentrates on the trade mark protection regime provided by the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), and involves a detailed study of the provisions of this Act and related case law, together with relevant aspects of the corresponding New Zealand laws and cases. The action for passing-off and actions for contravention of the Australian Consumer Law provisions in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and corresponding New Zealand statutory provisions, proscribing misleading and deceptive conduct are also covered.

This subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group C’.

Principal topics include:

• The function of trade marks
• Registration of trade marks under Australian and New Zealand laws
• Infringement, defences and remedies
• Licensing and assignment, and other exploitation of trade marks
• Removal and cancellation of registration
• Management and maintenance of trade marks
• The action for passing-off and actions for contravention of the Australian Consumer Law provisions in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) proscribing misleading and deceptive conduct and the corresponding provisions under New Zealand law
• Other protections for name and insignia, including the domain name system.

Historically a computer was “programmed” by a human utilising a precise set of instructions. Within this paradigm the computer was able to “process” information “fed” to it and produce a particular output based on such programming and information.

The human input was clear and transparent. As artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved in concert with the internet, cloud computing, big data gathering, data storage and data processing capabilities and the ubiquitous uptake of interactive smartphones and other “smart” devices, the relationship between the computer and direct and immediate human stewardship or control of outputs has become less readily identifiable. In turn this has given rise to significant legal issues.

There are substantial legal implications of AI which require ongoing, flexible and informed responses from lawyers and legal policy makers. This subject seeks to inform practicing lawyers, legal policy makers and non-lawyers in respect of those issues and how they might be dealt with.

Principal topics include:

• Introduction to AI. What is AI? Where is AI headed?
• The legal issues raised by AI
• The ethical issues raised by AI and particular applications of AI
• Overview of current AI legal reviews underway in the USA, EU and UK and Australia’s response to these reviews
• Intellectual property issues raised by AI
• Criminal liability in respect of AI
• Civil legal liability – examination of who is (or should be) responsible/liable for AI caused loss and harm.
• Mandatory insurance schemes for loss or damage caused by autonomous robots or AI
• The legal regimes governing use of AI in security, law enforcement and military contexts
• Privacy and confidentiality implications of AI

Pharmaceuticals provide fundamentally important medical treatments, saving lives and alleviating suffering, but they are also mired in controversy. Patients and governments struggle to meet rising costs, and have to deal with medical conditions for which there are still no effective drugs. Companies complain about heavy regulatory burdens and sagging profits. What is the role of law in mediating these tensions? Does it do so successfully?

The subject will not be limited to a single jurisdiction, but focusses on Australian and European law and draws widely on world events. It will be taught by Dr Kathleen Liddell, Director of the Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences (Cambridge) who has more than 20 years’ experience in academia, legal practice, law reform, policy advice and ethical analysis. Significantly, the subject is not solely for practicing lawyers in health and medical law. It is also suitable for doctors, research scientists, policymakers, industry executives, patent attorneys, and pharmacists.

This subject follows a medicine’s journey from a scientific idea through to the marketplace, clinic and (occasionally) courtroom. Along the way, we investigate the major legal and ethical issues affecting pharmaceuticals, including:

• criteria for market approval
• regulation of clinical trials
• intellectual property incentives
• controversies with pricing and competition in high income and low income countries
• safety monitoring
• compensation for injuries
• experimental therapies
• off-label prescribing
• direct to consumer advertising
• counterfeit medicines
• the looming crisis of antibiotic resistance
• future challenges such as genomic and ‘precision’ medicine.

The practice of intellectual property (IP) dispute resolution has a number of special features which mark it out from general civil litigation. Obtaining (or resisting) interim remedies can be crucial. IP disputes can take place in non-court settings – e.g. in opposition proceedings before IP Australia – and so may be heard by a non-legally qualified decision-maker. The disputes can – and in the case of patents, invariably will – concern technology. Careful and persuasive explanation of the technology will be required, especially before a tribunal without a scientific training. IP disputes can require specific evidence-gathering – such as experiments and surveys, and special approaches to discovery – for which particular rules and practices have developed. Expert witnesses of the highest calibre often give evidence. Challenging a Nobel Laureate on his or her own subject may be required, and the legal team has to prepare for that. IP disputes are often highly international in nature. Essentially the same dispute can be litigated in numerous jurisdictions, constraining the presentation of the case and generating foreign decisions on the same case. The ability to compare and contrast Common Law and Civil Code systems is useful.

Through a combination of instruction and hands-on application, this subject teaches and develops the skills and practices of advocacy and evidence-gathering used across the range of IP disputes.

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM), which is compulsory for graduates in disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer

Principal topics include:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.