LAW-32306 Intellectual Property Rights

Course

Credits 6.00

Teaching methodContact hours
Individual Paper10
Lectures24
Practical extensively supervised7
Course coordinator(s)dr. B de Jonge
Lecturer(s)dr. B de Jonge
dr. N Louwaars
dr. H Schebesta
RW van den Bulk
dr. ir. JMS Renkema
ir. CDM Steuten
Examiner(s)prof. dr. mr. BMJ van der Meulen
dr. B de Jonge

Language of instruction:

English

Contents:

The course addresses the operation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the agro-food and biotechnology industries. The use of patents, copyrights, plant breeders rights and trademarks will be discussed in depth, including their impact in society. IPRs are increasingly important for researchers and for public and private research organizations, for generating revenue, as a strategic tool in partnerships, and as a source of scientific information. For governments, IPRs are an important instrument in innovation policies as well as in trade and development policies. Many businesses consider the protection of their innovations in the market place a necessity for their survival while others choose to utilize more 'open' innovation pathways. IPRs are strongly connected to power relations and globalization.
The course provides a solid basis for natural scientists and future business managers to realize the value and limitations of IPRs in their daily work. It will provide social scientists with a basis to study the impact of IPRs on society, both in the industrialized and developing world. Lawyers will learn about the many different views on IPRs and how IPRs are intimately related to society.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- analyse intellectual property rights in the food and agro industries, and the (inter)national laws that govern them;
- understand how intellectual property rights impact the work of scientists and entrepreneurs;
- perform a patent search;
- discuss the impact of intellectual property rights on innovation systems in industrialized and in developing countries.

Activities:

- lectures;
- computer-practical.

Examination:

- individual paper (60%);
- written test with open questions (30%).
- oral presentation (10%) Each component needs a minimum mark of 5 to pass.
Together, the minimum mark for a pass is 5.5

Literature:

Articles.

ProgrammePhaseSpecializationPeriod
Compulsory for: MFSFood SafetyMScB: Food Safety Law5MO
Restricted Optional for: MPBPlant BiotechnologyMSc5MO