LL4N6      Half Unit
Principles of Copyright Law

This information is for the 2015/16 session.

Teacher responsible

Anne Barron NAB6.05

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Law and Accounting, Master of Laws and Master of Laws (extended part-time study). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course will be relevant to the following LLM specialisms: Competition, Innovation and Trade Law, Corporate and/or Commercial Law; Information Technology, Media and Communications Law; Intellectual Property Law.

This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSE for You.

Pre-requisites

None

Course content

The course provides an introduction to copyright law aimed at those who have not studied the subject in detail before. The starting point will be UK copyright law (as shaped by relevant EU Directives and international agreements), but US, French and German law will serve as occasional bases for comparative analysis. Topics to be covered will include the history and evolution of copyright, copyright’s protected objects (‘works’) and subjects (authors, publishers and producers of works), the principles governing the ownership and exploitation of copyright, and the nature and scope of copyright protection.

Teaching

20 hours of seminars in the MT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Formative coursework

One 2,000 word essay.

Indicative reading

Reading lists will be issued on a weekly basis. UK and EU legislation, cases and soft law instruments will make up most of the required reading for this course. All of this material is available in electronic form via the Moodle site which supports the course. Useful textbooks include Lionel Bently and Brad Sherman, Intellectual Property Law 4th ed. (OUP, Oxford 2014); Irini Stamatoudi and Paul Torremans (eds.) EU Copyright Law: A Commentary (Edward Elgar 2014) and Paul Goldstein and P. Bernt Hugenholtz, International Copyright Law 3rd ed. (OUP 2012).

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.

Key facts

Department: Law

Total students 2014/15: 17

Average class size 2014/15: 16

Controlled access 2014/15: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Communication
  • Specialist skills