Course 2024-2025 a.y.

This course focuses on international intellectual property rights and competition applied to echnologies and technological innovation. After a general introduction on intellectual property rights and the methodology followed in the course, the specific topics addressed in the course are:

• Patents.
• Distinctive signs.
• Exploitation and circulation of intellectual property.
• Copyright, the Internet and digital technologies.
• Enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Possess the necessary skills to identify, analyse, elaborate on and resolve international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet, giving due regard to the connected economic and management issues in Europe and in the World.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

• Identify relevant technological problems of businesses at international level.
• Identify relevant competition issues related to technological innovation for businesses in globalized markets.
• Solve relevant technological problems of businesses through the most appropriate intellectual property rights.
• Exploit technological inventions and innovation in globalized markets for businesses through intellectual property.
• Create a management plan of intellectual property rights internationally as applied to technology.
• Clearly illustrate technological problems and legal solutions in the world orally and written form.

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Individual works / Assignments
• Collaborative Works / Assignments
• Interaction/Gamification
• Competitions/Hackathons

• Hands-on case studies.
• Class debates using Socratic Learning Methods.
• Group exercices in Class.
• Senior Guest Speakers from all over the world illustrating the importance of IP Rights.
• E-learning courses (optional) to complement knowledge).

The Course aims at providing students with the necessary skills in identifying, analysing, elaborating on and resolving international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet, giving due regard to the connected economic and management issues in Europe and in the World. 

Students are considered as "attending students" if they follow at least 80 per cent of all lessons (i.e. if they follow at least 19 lessons out of 24).

1. For attending students, active participation/ interventions during classes are taken into consideration (for a maximum of 1, 5 point) for the final mark, the goal being to support and check students skills in identifying and analysing international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet. Active participation/ interventions means replying correctly to questions and exercises made at class and/or contributing meaningfully to debates in class.

2. A limited number of research debates are assigned to attending students (individually or in group) and their outcome are taken into consideration (for a maximum of 1, 5 point) for their final mark. These assignments may be subject as well to peer review. The goal is to support and check students skills in analysing and elaborating on international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet. The evaluation of attending students' participation is based on correct replies to research debate questions and/or meaningful contribution to related discussions in class.

3. In addition, A. Y. 2023-2024 attending students may also opt for an additional special European qualifying assignment on IP. Participating students, upon successful completion of this assignment, receive an Official European/ “Certificate of Competence” (that may also be of use for their cv) and are granted 2 additional points valid only in connection with the 2023-2024 final grades  for this course. The goal is to support and check students skills in analysing, elaborating on and resolving international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property.

4.The final exam is a written closed books exam and aims at verifying students skills to identify, analyse, elaborate on and resolve international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet. The final exam is graded on 30 (+ honours as appropriate), is written and consists of replying to two open questions out of three and corresponding to the compulsory program (there is no partial exam). 

To pass the Course, a final mark grade above 18 is necessary. The final published mark that students receive from Bocconi.Punto Blu includes already, as appropriate, the grade obtained at point 4 (i.e. the final exam) plus any additional points obtained through activities indicated at points 1, 2 and 3."

The Course aims at providing students with the necessary skills in identifying, analysing, elaborating on and resolving international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet, giving due regard to the connected economic and management issues in Europe and in the World. 

• The final exam aims at verifying students skills to identify, analyse, elaborate on and resolve international legal problems relating to the application of intellectual property to technology and the Internet. The final exam is graded on 30 (+Honours as appropriate), is written and consists of replying yo to two open questions out of three and corresponding to the compulsory program (there is no partial exam). To pass the exam, a final mark grade above 18 is necessary. 

The materials used to support teaching activities are NOT the same for attending and non-attending students.

FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS these materials are costomized to the Classroom needs and consist in Sections of a textbook (the WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook, available in digital pdf format: https://doi.org/10.34667/tind.28661) and several additional readings (of a different nature: doctrinal articles, papers, documents from institutions, etc.) that students have access in digital format as well (on the e-learning/Bboard of the course). Materials are clearly divided into those required for preparing for the exams and those that are not. However, attending students may also get at class additional thematic handouts on a regular basis, which may help guiding them in their studies.

The materials used to support teaching activities are NOT the same for attending and non-attending students.

FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS, they study the following book, for being able to reply to the written exam question(s):

Graham Dutfield, and Uma Suthersanen, “Global Intellectual Property Law”

Second Edition, 2020, Edward Elgar Publishing, ISBN: 978 1 78254 884 3