APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

GRA 3153 Legal Framework for Intellectual Property Rights

Responsible for the course
Monica Viken

Department
Department of Accounting - Auditing and Law

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
An understanding of the legal framework is important to understand Norwegian business. The course will give a brief introduction to the Norwegian company law and the main structure in the field of intellectual property rights. Intellectual Property (IP) rights arrangements are important in order to control access and use of valuable resources. It is IP laws that provide right holders with the ability to exploit assets commercially.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge
The students will gain a basic understanding of the legal aspects and framework used in the business community and in entrepreneurship. They will be acquainted with the legal sources in the field of intellectual property.
Acquired skills
The students will be able to give an account of the Norwegian legal system in general and intellectual property rights in particular. They will be able to find and use the legal sources in a legal dispute regarding patent law, trademark law or industrial design law.
Reflection
The students will reflect on legal standards, such as "good business practice", and they will know how to manage activities in a responsible way. The will develop a critical sense regarding the grey area that is not clearly regulated.

Prerequisites
A bachelor degree qualifying for entrance to the master programme in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Torremans, Paul. 2013. Holyoak and Torremans intellectual property law. 7th ed. Oxford University Press. Selected parts are required reading

Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


Recommended reading
Books:
2012. Norwegian company legislation. 10th ed. Den norske revisorforening
Helset, Per, Felix Reimers, Toril Melander Stene og Ragnar Vik. 2009. Immaterialrett og produktetterligning mv. etter markedsføringsloven. Cappelen akademisk
Hoorebeek, Mark Van. 2009. Intellectual property law. 3rd ed. Sweet & Maxwell. Tidligere utg. med forfatter: Caroline Wilson

Course outline
- An introduction to the Norwegian legal system
- An introduction to various types of limited companies
- Trademark law
- Patent law
- Law of industrial designs
- Copyright
- Rights in connection with the marketing control act

The course is based on lectures and seminars. The seminars will include solving of practical cases based on legal method. The students are expected to participate in discussions and do assignments throughout the course. Students are required to purchase and bring with them the required study aids to the lectures and to acquaint themselves with these through the study of various topics. In particular, knowledge relating to legal rules dealt with in the textbooks or discussed in lectures is required. Parts of the syllabus will have to be studied independently.

Computer-based tools
Standard, It's learning/homepage

Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours. A combination of regular lectures and workshops including paper presentations.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.


Examination
Obligatory individual assignments during the course (pass/fail). Assignments must be passed in order to get a final grade in the course.
Term paper - Individually or in groups of up to three students

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

Examination code(s)
GRA31532 accounts for 100 % of the final grade in the course GRA3153.

Examination support materials
Exam aids at written examiniations are explained under exam information in the student portal @bi. Please note use of calculator and dictionary in the section on examaids

Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.

Additional information
Honor Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.