LAW5665 · Intellectual property and climate change

Overview

The unit will explore a crucial legal aspect connected to a global issue, specifically the relationship between Intellectual Property (IP) and climate change. It will examine the debate over the extent to which human activity contributes to climate change. As a result, reversing human impacts on the atmosphere – specifically, climate change mitigation – will also require the adoption of appropriate technologies. The same notion applies to IP and climate change: the IP system, particularly the patent system, is closely linked with many green technologies that can either help reduce climate change or act as barriers to technological innovation. The unit will cover the following topics: Patents and green technologies, Trade marks and greenwashing, Designs and the circular economy, Right to Repair, Copyright and upcycling, and Geographical Indications.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Demonstrate high-level understanding of key issues in how Intellectual Property (IP) interacts with ethical, social and technological progress;
2. Critically analyse and evaluate key issues in IP and Sustainability, incorporating various practical, policy, and theoretical perspectives;
3. Evaluate and synthesise complex information to deeply reflect on and convincingly respond to complex issues related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
4. Communicate effectively, appropriately, and persuasively on business and institutional decisions concerning sustainability issues for a range of audiences.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit typically comprises of a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study applicable to a 6 credit point unit. Learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning, and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.