Certificate in Trade Mark Law and Practice modules

This module aims to give students general knowledge of the English legal system in order to understand sources of law, the effects on intellectual property and the interaction between intellectual property and other areas of law.

Students will obtain knowledge of the legal system and legal language and the ability to apply this understanding to various legal questions. In particular, they will gain an overview of legal principles and their application to various situations and problems. Students will acquire skills and experience in the assimilation and analysis of complex material from various sources, and will present the relevant knowledge and understanding through reasoned and supported research papers.

The module will promote research skills as well as deliver practical and commercial skills for further training or research as desired.

This module offers an overview of the main copyright and design principles established under international, EU and UK law. The main focus is on UK copyright and design. Authorities from other jurisdictions will be used, where relevant, as a means of comparison to afford a cohesive basic knowledge of the subject area.

This module is designed to provide the students with an in-depth knowledge of the legal principles governing the areas of designs and copyright with reference to intellectual property in general but more specifically to the UKIPO and the EUIPO. Students will also obtain practical insights into the particularities of the subject areas and become acquainted with legal as well as practical issues arising in the context of due diligence processes involved. 

This module is designed to provide the you with an in-depth knowledge of the legal principles governing the registrability of signs as national UK trade marks and European Union Trade Marks (EUTMs). The module will focus on distinguishing between those signs that may constitute subject matter capable of being protected as a registered trade mark and the signs that must be excluded from registration in light of public interest considerations or earlier rights of third parties.

Registration procedures at the UKIPO and the EUIPO will be covered as well. You will also obtain practical insights into the particularities of trade mark commercialization and become acquainted with legal as well as practical issues arising in the context of due diligence processes involving trade marks.

This module is designed to provide the students with an in-depth knowledge of the legal principles governing the infringement of registered trade mark rights and the defenses to trade mark infringement suits. Students will also become acquainted with the legal and practical aspects of the procedures related to the revocation and the invalidity of trade mark registrations both from the UKIPO and the EUIPO perspective.

Registration and maintenance will be examined from a comparative perspective by looking at the corresponding rules of selected key jurisdictions. In order to provide students with a complete picture of trade mark protection at an international level, the module covers the major international treaties regulating the protection of trade marks. Students will also have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the various filing strategies that traders have the option of resorting to when seeking to obtain trade mark protection in foreign markets.

The module examines the protection of unregistered commercial symbols through the law of passing off in the UK and the unfair competition laws of selected jurisdictions.

A wide array of special topics are covered in-depth including parallel imports, the protection of marks with a reputation, trade mark infringement on the Internet, protection of domain names etc.