Outline

Overview

This unit covers copyright and designs law, both recognised branches of intellectual property law. Their existence is often justified on the presumption that they encourage the exercise of inventive, creative and entrepreneurial skill and labour. The protection these areas of law provides is said to enable commercial exploitation of the resulting works or designs. This unit focuses on the requirements for the copyright and design protection and investigates the bases upon which infringement action can be brought. Particular emphasis will be placed on the expanding scope of copyright and the implications of the internet, as well as provisions in the Copyright Act intended to address the apparent overlap between copyright and design protection. Although the unit of study will emphasise legal doctrine and be taught from the perspective of a relatively depoliticised formalism, it is also recognised that the deployment and the regulation of intellectual property inevitably have substantial cultural, technological and economic consequences, which in turn inform and shape the development of legal doctrine. So, for example, Gone With The Wind, as a literary work still under copyright, is both an asset with a monetary value and the focus of a civil rights activism which demands the right to imitate the work for social and political criticism and parody. There will, accordingly, be some attention paid in this unit to the cultural, technological and economic consequences of intellectual property laws, to the significance of access to the public domain and to the effects of international trade pressure in the area.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	LAWS3033 or LAWS3423 or LAWS3480
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Kimberlee Weatherall, kimberlee.weatherall@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Louise Buckingham, louise.buckingham@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home extended release)	Final take-home examination 48hr final exam. Word limit 4000 words.	80%	Formal exam period	48 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Presentation Presentation on tutorial question	0%	Ongoing	Ongoing
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Written assessment following presentation Written assessment following presentation	20%	Ongoing	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = Type E final exam ?

Assessment summary

Presentation: Students are required to:

be ready to discuss all the exercises and their chosen presentation question allocated to their tutorial. These are provided at the start of semester in the Tutorial Pack. Students should prepare all the exercises, and if there is more than one presentation question, the student need only prepare/comment on the one they are assigned to.
post one comment on the Discussion board, on their presentation question, the day before class.
engage with the teacher during the relevant class, and answer questions about the exercises and their presentation question. The teacher may call on them for their views as a starting point for class discussion of the questions.

If you miss your allocated class, you will require special consideration applied for and granted in the usual way, in which case an alternative should be negotiated with the relevant teacher: it could be participation on the Discussion Board and submission of written work, or it could be doing a different question later in the Semester. It is the responsibility of the student to talk to their tutor to negotiate an alternative.

Sign up will be via a Google Doc on Canvas. An announcement will be published once sign up is open. The number of people for each question will be capped, so be sure to sign up early if you feel strongly about what question you do.

Written response: 1000 words, following the presentation on a tutorial question. The written answers must be prepared alone and submitted via Canvas by 12 noon the Monday following the class at which you present.

Final exam: Take-home exam, likely comprised of response to an essay question and a problem question. The exam will be held during the University formal exam period. The exam will be scheduled by the Exams Office and the Law School is not responsible for exam timetabling. Please refer to Exams https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/exams/timetables.html.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out for this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Completely answers the question. Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Completely answers the question. Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. Generally well expressed and free from errors. Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. Contains no significant errors. Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. Contains some significant errors. Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. Offers a descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. Adequate expression. Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Does not answer the question. Contains significant or numerous errors. Few or no identifiable arguments. Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. Lack of research or analysis. Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof. Late penalties do not apply to exams and any late submissions will not be accepted.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to IP; Introduction to Copyright	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 01	Tutorial: reasons for copyright; philosophical rationales	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 02	Criteria for Subsistence	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Tutorial: Indigenous ways of thinking about ownership and control of culture	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 03	Subject Matter	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Tutorial: Subsistence, originality, subject matter	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 04	Ownership and Exploitation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Tutorial: ownership/exploitation	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 06	Infringement: General Principles; Economic Rights – reproduction	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Tutorial: Economic rights and infringement	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	Authorisation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Tutorial: online infringement	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	Exceptions to Infringement	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Tutorial: Exceptions	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 10	Moral Rights; Performers rights; and Enforcement and Remedies	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Tutorial: Moral and Performers' rights; remedies and enforcement	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 11	Design Law; The Copyright-Design Overlap	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Tutorial: Revision, Questions, and Problem Practice	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 12	Bringing it together: a full copyright scenario analysed	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Tutorial: Revision, Problem Practice, and Q&A	Tutorial (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of live classes (or as otherwise specified by the Unit Coordinator) to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Attendance requirements may be satisfied by in person or online attendance as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

Word count penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% pf the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude: bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include: body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Kathy Bowrey, Michael Handler, Dianne Nicol, Jane Nielsen and Kimberlee Weatherall, Australian Intellectual Property (3rd ed) (Oxford University Press, 2021)

As the rights you will be studying are creatures of statute, you will need to acquire the Copyright Act 1968 and the Designs Act 2003 and will need also to refer to various treaties including TRIPS and the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 17.

Students may choose to obtain access to the legislation via the Federal Register of Legislation https://www.legislation.gov.au/ or www.austlii.edu.au. Australia’s IP legislation and treaty obligations are usefully collected in the LexisNexis Legislation Series: Intellectual Property Collection 2020 (Publisher: LexisNexis; ISBN: 9780409351668; Published: December 2019).

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. describe the structure of the Australian copyright system
LO2. describe the policy goals of copyright law, evaluate how well copyright serves those goals, and analyse how those policy goals apply in the context of technological and economic change
LO3. apply the legislation and case law relating to copyright in Australia to new fact scenarios
LO4. resolve questions of interpretation in copyright drawing on legislation, case law, and copyright's policy goals
LO5. describe the structure and policy goals of registered design law in Australia
LO6. apply the legislation and case law relating to designs in Australia to new fact scenarios
LO7. describe and apply to new fact scenarios the rules relating to the overlap between copyright and design law in Australia
LO8. describe the system of international intellectual property treaties and how they impact on Australian intellectual property laws (in particular, copyright and designs)

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

Lectures will be pre-recorded and available at least one day prior to the first tutorial each teaching week.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS5180: IP: Copyright and Designs

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect