Postgraduate Module Descriptor

LAWM044: Trademarks

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims are as follows:

To develop an awareness of the importance of the trade mark system and its implications for the development of business in both a theoretical and practical way;
To encourage engagement with research and scholarship in relation to trade mark law and protection;
To stimulate critical analysis and evaluation about the operation of the current operation of trade mark law and in particular whether any reforms are needed;
To encourage evaluation of the respective interests of right holders, authorised licensees, competitors and consumers and whether the current law balances those interests fairly and equitably;
To encourage a practical awareness of the operation of the registration system in real business situations;
To consider potential abuses of trade mark rights and the relationship of such trade mark rights to other key rights such as freedom of expression (e.g. parodying trade marks) and freedom of competition.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate a deep and systematic knowledge and understanding of the law in relation to the protection of trade marks and geographical appellations and an extensive range of major concepts, values and principles relevant to the application of the law; 2. Undertake complex critical evaluations of the main legal rules, institutions and procedures relevant to trade mark law using specialist literature and current research; 3. Compare, analyse and synthesise innovatively the principle rules and theories relating to the scope of protection of trade marks and geographical appellations; 4. Identify, explain and evaluate key issues in trade mark law critically and comprehensively and to apply relevant rules and a range of theories systematically; 5. Demonstrate deep and critical awareness of a wide range of legal and contextual implications of the areas of trade mark law studied;
Discipline-Specific Skills	6. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a range of legal concepts, values, principles and institutions and procedures and the ability to evaluate systematically the relationships among them as well as their limits; 7. Apply detailed and comprehensive legal knowledge and understanding to a problem/case study and to argue alternative approaches/to propose solutions innovatively;
Personal and Key Skills	8. Interact effectively, confidently and proactively within a team/learning group to share information and ideas to clarify, plan and undertake tasks confidently and independently, individually and with others, to reflect critically on the learning process and to make use of feedback efficiently; and 9. Work independently and effectively and to manage time efficiently in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Written formative assessment to be submitted by Week 7 of the course	2000	1-7,9	Use of feedback forms and where necessary oral discussion with the student.
Individual and team presentations	15 minutes	1-9	Oral discussion

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	100	7,500 words	1-7,9	Formal written feedback and an opportunity, where necessary, for oral feedback and guidance from the lecturer.
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (7500 words)	1-7,9	August/September re-assessment period

Re-assessment notes

Marks for re-assessments following an earlier failed attempt will, in the absence of special circumstances be capped at 50%.