International and comparative law of copyright and related rights

LWM26

This course will give you a strong overview of the issues, operation and history of international and comparative law of copyright and related rights. The course will provide you with a sound knowledge of substantive UK and US copyright law and the shared historical roots of these systems and give students the theoretical foundations, and analytical skills, sufficient to be able to evaluate UK/US copyright problems that arise in practice, and on which you may be asked to advise in a professional capacity. It will also aim to provide students with an awareness of how both jurisdictions are dealing with the challenges posed by new communication technologies such as the Internet. You will also learn how the systems of copyright/author’s right systems prevailing in Continental Europe, particularly, the French and German author’s right systems have developed and how they operate and be introduced to the regulatory framework of international copyright law amongst a number of other important issues in this key area of the law.

Study as an individual course

Module A: Copyright law in the United Kingdom and United States

LWM26A

Introduction and protectable subject matter
Protection criteria
Ownership and duration
Economic and moral rights
Infringement and limitations to protection

Module B: French and German copyright law and related rights

LWM26B

Introduction and protected subject matter
Economic and moral rights
Authorship, transfer of rights and duration
Limitations and exceptions

Module C: International copyright law – international conventions and aspects of private international law

LWM26C

General concepts
The Berne Convention
The Universal Copyright Convention
The Rome Convention on the Protection of Phonograms and Performing Artists
Copyright and the TRIPs Agreement
The WIPO “Internet Treaties”
Private International Law Aspects

Module D: Copyright law in the European Community

LWM26D

Introduction to copyright law in the European Community
Computer programs and database protection
Rental and lending rights, satellite broadcasting and cable
Copyright term and artist's resale right
Copyright in the information society and enforcement

Assessment

Each module is assessed by a 45-minute unseen written exam.

Sequence

It is strongly recommended you attempt Modules A and B before C and D.

How to apply

You can apply to study a module individually as a standalone unit or as part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Laws qualification. (In either scenario, they must be studied in order.)

These modules also contribute towards the following specialist pathways for Laws:

Commercial and Corporate Law
Common Law
Comparative and Foreign Law
Intellectual Property Law
International Business Law
International Intellectual Property Law

Apply via Postgraduate Laws.

Professor Guido Westkamp

Guido Westkamp is Professor of Intellectual Property and Comparative Law and course director for the University of London LLM courses "Intellectual Property in the Digital Millennium", 'Intellectual Property Transactions' and 'Intellectual Property in the Creative Industries'. He is also the academic director for the MSc in Intellectual Property Management and course director for the MSc Copyright and Designs course. He further coordinates the European Intellectual Property Institutions Network (EIPIN) at CCLS.