Digital Intellectual Property Law (831M3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The emergence of the internet as a global communications network has immensely effected how we view and apply intellectual property law. 

On this module, you’ll explore:

• the importance of copyright to the digital and physical economy
• copyright in the creative and entertainment industries
• the use of domain names and trademarks to identify brands
• the protection of patents for computer programmes, mobile phone design and other digital devices
• the importance of patents to the economy
• the rise of communications technology
• how this rise has been shaped by intellectual property protections
• patent wars of mobile manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung
• privacy
• software protection.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 270 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.