Intellectual Property Law — Overview
For more detailed information about our work in this area, see also the dedicated Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre website
Forthcoming Subject Events
May 2013
Tuesday 28 May 2013 Week 6
- Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre
How To Reshape Treaties Without Negotiations: Intellectual Property Enforcement As A Case Study Of Global Governance By Stealth - Speaker: Dr Valéria Guimarães de Lima e Silva, Hauser Fellow at NYU
University College Swire Seminar Room at 12 Merton Street at 14:00
June 2013
Thursday 13 June Week 8
- Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre
From Goods to a Good Life - Intellectual Property and Global Justice - Speaker: Prof. M. Sunder , UC Davis School of Law
Oxford Law Faculty Senior Common Room at 13:00
Sunday 23 June until Wednesday 26 June 2013 Week 10
- Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre
International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) - Pembroke College
October 2013
Friday 4 October until Saturday 5 October 2013 Week -1
- Institute of European and Comparative Law
Perspectives on the Unitary (EU) Patent System - Oxford
News
Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot and Conversazione 2013
Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot 2013
The annual Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot was held at the Faculty of Law and Pembroke College from 14 to 16 March 2013 [more…]
Astor Fund Visiting Lectureship 2013: Professor Mark Rose
The Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre and the Faculty of English will host Professor Mark Rose (University of California, Santa Barbara) as the Astor Lecturer in Trinity 2013 [more…]
Call for Papers: Empirical Studies of Trademark Data Workshop at USPTO, September 26-27 2013
CALL FOR PAPERS
EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF TRADEMARK DATA WORKSHOP AT USPTO
SEPTEMBER 26-27, 2013
Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy, New York University School of Law
and the
United States Patent and Trademark Office
in cooperation with
Center for Law & Economics, ETH Zurich
Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre
University of East Anglia
We are seeking paper proposals from economics, management, and legal scholars on the empirical study of trademark data for a one-and-a-half day workshop at the U.S [more…]
Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot Finals 2013
The universities that have been invited to the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot Finals have been announced [more…]
Oxford Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice Alumni Reception
The Faculty of Law hosted its annual Diploma in Intellectual Property Law & Practice Alumni Reception at the Royal Society in London on 25 February. The event, attended by about 60 Diploma alumni and tutors, featured a fascinating talk by Geoffrey Hobbs QC (One Essex Court) on trade mark cases before the the European Court of Justice. The Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice is taught jointly by senior Oxford academics and senior practitioners from law firms and chambers [more…]
Leading Copyright Historian Appointed as Astor Lecturer for Trinity 2013.
The Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre and the Faculty of English will host Professor Mark Rose (University of California, Santa Barbara) as the Astor Lecturer in Trinity 2013. Professor Rose has had extensive involvement in copyright litigation over thirty years and is one of the world’s leading historians of copyright. He is currently working on a book for Harvard University Press that focuses on six copyright cases spread over 250 years [more…]
Project on Empirical Studies of Trade Mark Data.
The Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre is working with several partners to support scholarship using the empirical study of trade mark data [more…]
European Copyright Society Opinion on the Reference to the Court of Justice in Svensson
Professor Dinwoodie is a member of the European Copyright Society which recently published an Opinion on The Reference to the CJEU in Case C-466/12 Svensson (15 February 2013). The case, which was referred to the Court by the Swedish Court of Appeal, raises the important question whether setting a hyperlink to a copyright protected work amounts to ‘communication to the public’ within the meaning of the Information Society Directive [more…]
The 2012 International Intellectual Property Moot and Conversazione
The annual International Intellectual Property Moot and Conversazione were held on 16 and 17 March 2012 at St Catherine’s College [more…]
Pattishall Medal for excellence and innovation in teaching
The Oxford Law Faculty congratulates Professor Vaver, Emeritus Professor of Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law, on being awarded the Pattishall Medal for excellence and innovation in teaching of subjects related to trademarks and trade identity, having been nominated by one of his former students [more…]
Oxford Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice Alumni Drinks Reception and Talk
On Tuesday 28 February, the Faculty of Law hosted the first Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice Alumni Drinks and Talk at the Oxford Cambridge Club in London [more…]
International Intellectual Property Moot 2011
The annual International Intellectual Property Moot was held on 18 and 19 March 2011. A record number of submissions were received this year [more…]
The Third Intellectual Property Conversazione
The Third Intellectual Property Conversazione was held at St Catherine’s College, Oxford on Friday 18 March, in conjunction with the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot [more…]
Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot Finals 2011
The universities that have been invited to the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot Finals have been announced. A list of the short-listed universities is available here [more…]
International Intellectual Property Moot 2010
St Catherine’s College on Saturday 20th March saw the conclusion of the Oxford IP Research Centre (OIPRC)’s eighth annual mooting competition, hosted for the first time by its new Director, Professor Graeme Dinwoodie [more…]
IP Conversazione
The Second Intellectual Property Conversazione was held at St Catherine’s College, Oxford on Friday 19 March, in conjunction with the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot. Hosted by the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, the IP Conversazione brought together five very different speakers to discuss aspects of the broad question “Is Copyright Good for Music?” in a panel chaired by Oxford’s Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law Graeme Dinwoodie. Lord Gill, the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland and former Chair of Governors of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, provided valuable background on the history of the statutory development of the UK law protecting musical works [more…]
IP Diploma News
The Oxford Diploma in IP Law and Practice is a one-year, part-time,
masters-level vocational course, designed to give junior lawyers
embarking on a career in IP a grounding in the fundamentals of IP law
and practice [more…]
Professor Graeme Dinwoodie elected to Oxford Chair in Intellectual Property Law
Professor Graeme Dinwoodie has been named as Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law at Oxford University [more…]
New IP Diploma begins
The Oxford Diploma in IP Law and Practice has
begun, with a two-week intensive course last month for 55 early-career practitioners
taking the course [more…]
OIPRC becomes an official centre of the Law Faculty
In October 2008 the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC) became a Centre of the Oxford Law Faculty, taking its place alongside an increasing number of multidisciplinary centres [more…]New IP Diploma is approved
The Oxford Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice has been approved by the University’s Educational Policy and Standards Committee, and will run from 2008-9 [more…]
Inaugural International Intellectual Property Moot
The International IP Moot ran on 22
and 23 March 2003 [more…]
Discussion Groups
These self-sustaining groups are an essential part of the life of our graduate school. They are organised in some cases by graduate students and in others by Faculty members and meet regularly during term, typically over a sandwich lunch, when one of the group presents work in progress or introduces a discussion of a particular issue or new case. They may also encompass guest speakers from the faculty and beyond.
Publications
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Journal Articles
2014
G Dinwoodie, 'Third Annual Emmanuel College International Intellectual Property Lecture: Ensuring Consumers “Get What They Want”: The Role of Trademark Law ' (2014) Cambridge Law Journal (forthcoming)
2013
J Pila, 'The European Patent: An Old and Vexing Problem' (2013) 62(4) International & Comparative Law Quarterly
2012
C Greenhalgh and M Rogers, 'Trade marks and performance in services and manufacturing firms: evidence of Schumpeterian competition through innovation' (2012) 45 Australian Economic Review
J Pila, '"Sewing the Fly Buttons on the Statute:" Employee Inventions and the Employment Context' (2012) 32 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 1-31 [...]
A preprint of this article is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1927628
J Pila, 'Intellectual Property Rights and Detached Human Body Parts' (2012) Journal of Medical Ethics
Courses
The courses we offer in this field are:
Undergraduate
FHS - Final Year (Phase III)
The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe) and (for students who began the course in October 2011 or later) an essay in Jurisprudence written over the summer vacation at the end of the second year. Note: the Jurisprudence exam at the end of the third year is correspondingly shorter. This phase of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.
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Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights
It is commonplace to claim that we live in an information and technological age, and that rights in creative and informational works, and in technology, are becoming increasingly important. In this course we introduce two of the central regimes for the protection of those rights – copyright and patent law – and certain of their allied regimes. Copyright protects literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and published editions, and is supported by the moral rights regime, which protects authors and others against certain wrongs involving the use of copyright-protected works. Patent law protects inventions, and is supported by the breach of confidence action, which protects persons against the unauthorized disclosure of their trade and other secrets. We ask why we have these regimes and how they operate at a national and European level. The course should appeal to those interested in the arts and entertainment industries, publishing, literary theory, information technology, research and development, trade, privacy, medical law and ethics, and intellectual property practice. It will be taught in eight two-hour seminars and six one-hour tutorials spread over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms by Lord L Hoffmann (patents seminars), Dr J Pila (copyright seminars and tutorials) and Ms A Slade (patent tutorials). NOTE: Students may not choose both Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights and Copyright, Trademarks and Allied Rights.
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Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights
It is commonplace to claim that we live in an information and consumer age, and that rights in creative and informational works, and in words, logos and other signs used in trade, are becoming increasingly important. In this course we introduce two of the central regimes for the protection of those rights – copyright and trade mark law – and certain of their allied regimes. Copyright confers rights in respect of literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and published editions, and is supported by the moral rights regime, which protects authors and others against certain wrongs involving the use of copyright-protected works. Trade mark law protects signs that indicate the commercial origin of goods and services, and is supported by the passing off action, which protects against certain unauthorized uses of information to mislead or deceive the market. We ask why we have these regimes and how they operate at a national, European and international level. The course should appeal to those interested in the arts and entertainment industries, publishing, literary theory, information technology, marketing, brand management, trade, unfair competition, and intellectual property practice. It will be taught in eight two-hour seminars and six one-hour tutorials spread over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms by Dr J Pila (copyright seminars and tutorials) and Dr E Hudson (trade mark seminars and tutorials). NOTE: Students may not choose both Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights and Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights.
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Patents, Trade Marks and Allied Rights (not offered in 2012-13)
This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.
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Diploma in Legal Studies
A one-year sample of courses from our BA programmes, aimed only at students visiting from our partner universities.
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Patents, Trade Marks and Allied Rights (not offered in 2012-13)
This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.
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Postgraduate
BCL
Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from common-law backgrounds
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European Intellectual Property Law
The course in European Intellectual Property Law covers all the main forms of intellectual property (principally, copyright, trade mark and patent). It explores the theoretical foundations of and justification for the different rights as well as their application in a number of settings. The most contested issues in intellectual property law are closely connected to developments throughout the arts and technology, as well as to evolutions in marketing and popular culture, and thus the course will be of interest to students from a number of backgrounds and with a variety of interests. In the United Kingdom, intellectual property law is increasingly Europeanised, which informs the structure and content of this course. Because European law is both informed by international developments in the field, and in turn informs the shape of intellectual property law in so many countries throughout the world, the course thus takes on an international and comparative dimension. The course is taught by Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, Professor Ansgar Ohly, Dr Justine Pila and Dr. Emily Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials over Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms. Teaching is through fourteen seminars. The seminars are supported by four introductory lectures (one at the beginning of the course and one as we start discussion of each of Copyright, Trade Marks and Patents), and by the provision of six tutorials. Reading lists are posted using Weblearn. Students taking the course may also audit the undergraduate IP seminars of Lord Hoffmann, Dr Pila, and Dr. Hudson. This course will be taught by Professor Dinwoodie, Professor Ohly, Dr Pila and Dr Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials held in Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms.
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MJur
Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from civil law backgrounds.
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Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights (also part of the BA course)
It is commonplace to claim that we live in an information and technological age, and that rights in creative and informational works, and in technology, are becoming increasingly important. In this course we introduce two of the central regimes for the protection of those rights – copyright and patent law – and certain of their allied regimes. Copyright protects literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and published editions, and is supported by the moral rights regime, which protects authors and others against certain wrongs involving the use of copyright-protected works. Patent law protects inventions, and is supported by the breach of confidence action, which protects persons against the unauthorized disclosure of their trade and other secrets. We ask why we have these regimes and how they operate at a national and European level. The course should appeal to those interested in the arts and entertainment industries, publishing, literary theory, information technology, research and development, trade, privacy, medical law and ethics, and intellectual property practice. It will be taught in eight two-hour seminars and six one-hour tutorials spread over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms by Lord L Hoffmann (patents seminars), Dr J Pila (copyright seminars and tutorials) and Ms A Slade (patent tutorials). NOTE: Students may not choose both Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights and Copyright, Trademarks and Allied Rights.
[less]
Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights (also part of the BA course)
It is commonplace to claim that we live in an information and consumer age, and that rights in creative and informational works, and in words, logos and other signs used in trade, are becoming increasingly important. In this course we introduce two of the central regimes for the protection of those rights – copyright and trade mark law – and certain of their allied regimes. Copyright confers rights in respect of literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and published editions, and is supported by the moral rights regime, which protects authors and others against certain wrongs involving the use of copyright-protected works. Trade mark law protects signs that indicate the commercial origin of goods and services, and is supported by the passing off action, which protects against certain unauthorized uses of information to mislead or deceive the market. We ask why we have these regimes and how they operate at a national, European and international level. The course should appeal to those interested in the arts and entertainment industries, publishing, literary theory, information technology, marketing, brand management, trade, unfair competition, and intellectual property practice. It will be taught in eight two-hour seminars and six one-hour tutorials spread over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms by Dr J Pila (copyright seminars and tutorials) and Dr E Hudson (trade mark seminars and tutorials). NOTE: Students may not choose both Copyright, Patents and Allied Rights and Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights.
[less]
Patents, Trade Marks and Allied Rights (not offered in 2012-13) (also part of the BA course)
This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.
[less]
European Intellectual Property Law
The course in European Intellectual Property Law covers all the main forms of intellectual property (principally, copyright, trade mark and patent). It explores the theoretical foundations of and justification for the different rights as well as their application in a number of settings. The most contested issues in intellectual property law are closely connected to developments throughout the arts and technology, as well as to evolutions in marketing and popular culture, and thus the course will be of interest to students from a number of backgrounds and with a variety of interests. In the United Kingdom, intellectual property law is increasingly Europeanised, which informs the structure and content of this course. Because European law is both informed by international developments in the field, and in turn informs the shape of intellectual property law in so many countries throughout the world, the course thus takes on an international and comparative dimension. The course is taught by Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, Professor Ansgar Ohly, Dr Justine Pila and Dr. Emily Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials over Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms. Teaching is through fourteen seminars. The seminars are supported by four introductory lectures (one at the beginning of the course and one as we start discussion of each of Copyright, Trade Marks and Patents), and by the provision of six tutorials. Reading lists are posted using Weblearn. Students taking the course may also audit the undergraduate IP seminars of Lord Hoffmann, Dr Pila, and Dr. Hudson. This course will be taught by Professor Dinwoodie, Professor Ohly, Dr Pila and Dr Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials held in Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms.
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MSc (Master's in Law and Finance)
European Intellectual Property Law
The course in European Intellectual Property Law covers all the main forms of intellectual property (principally, copyright, trade mark and patent). It explores the theoretical foundations of and justification for the different rights as well as their application in a number of settings. The most contested issues in intellectual property law are closely connected to developments throughout the arts and technology, as well as to evolutions in marketing and popular culture, and thus the course will be of interest to students from a number of backgrounds and with a variety of interests. In the United Kingdom, intellectual property law is increasingly Europeanised, which informs the structure and content of this course. Because European law is both informed by international developments in the field, and in turn informs the shape of intellectual property law in so many countries throughout the world, the course thus takes on an international and comparative dimension. The course is taught by Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, Professor Ansgar Ohly, Dr Justine Pila and Dr. Emily Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials over Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms. Teaching is through fourteen seminars. The seminars are supported by four introductory lectures (one at the beginning of the course and one as we start discussion of each of Copyright, Trade Marks and Patents), and by the provision of six tutorials. Reading lists are posted using Weblearn. Students taking the course may also audit the undergraduate IP seminars of Lord Hoffmann, Dr Pila, and Dr. Hudson. This course will be taught by Professor Dinwoodie, Professor Ohly, Dr Pila and Dr Hudson in a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials held in Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms.
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People
Intellectual Property teaching is organized by a Subject Group convened by:
Justine Pila: University Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
in conjunction with:
Graeme Dinwoodie: Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law
Lord Hoffmann: Visiting Professor
Emily Hudson: CDF in IP Law
Ansgar Ohly: Visiting Professor
Alison Slade: DPhil Law
Also working in this field, but not involved in its teaching programme:
Peter Hayward: Retired. Formerly Fellow of St Peter's
Daniela Simone: DPhil Law student
David Vaver: Emeritus Professor of Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law

