Dr Niamh Dunne NAB 7.05

This course is available on the MSc in Regulation, 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; Corporate and/or Commercial Law; European Law; International Business Law.

This course is capped at 60 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.

Prior knowledge of Competition Law is desirable, but not essential.

This module addresses some of the most topical and intellectually challenging aspects of contemporary Competition Law. The emphasis will be put on EU Competition Law, but developments from other jurisdictions, and in particular from the US, are discussed where relevant. The module examines the intersection of competition law with intellectual property (standard-setting agreements, patent pools, issues arising in relation to the enforcement of patents in the pharmaceutical sector). It also covers some of the major substantive developments in the field, and in particular the application of the law in high-technology markets and in recently liberalised industries.

Topics include the following:

• Competition Law and Intellectual Property

     o Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector

     o Standard-setting agreements and patent pool organisations

     o Intellectual property licensing

• Competition Law in High-Technology Markets

     o Interoperability issues

     o Online distribution

     o Competition Law and Innovation

• Competition Law and Sector-Specific Regulation (Telecommunications and Energy)

20 hours of seminars in the LT. 4 hours of seminars in the ST.

All students are expected to produce one 2,000 word formative essay during the course.

Whish, Competition Law (8th edn, 2015); Jones & Sufrin, EU Competition Law: Cases and Materials (5th ed, 2014); Elhauge & Geradin, Global Competition Law and Economics (2nd edn, 2011); Hovenkamp, The Antitrust Enterprise (2005).

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the main exam period.