Intellectual Property Law

Entry requirements

The course will demand a good degree in law or in a related discipline.

In the United Kingdom, a 2.1 or equivalent will be the minimum requirement.

Students with overseas qualifications will conform to the minimum requirements for admission.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Over the last few decades, there has been increased awareness of the importance of intellectual property and the role it plays in a global economy. Intellectual property law regulates the creation, use and exploitation of mental or creative labour, protecting information and the application of ideas via copyright, patents, trade marks and other related rights. Intellectual property encompasses such disparate areas as science, art, advertising, music, product design, trade reputations, medicines and knowledge.

This course provides an opportunity to develop an advanced knowledge of intellectual property law. In the first term, you will take a (compulsory) foundation course providing a solid grounding in copyright, patents and trademarks from the UK and European perspective. In the second term, there is a more advanced course, which will deal with a number of current and emerging topics in the field of intellectual property law, such as artificial intelligence, access to medicines and patents in the life sciences. Having completed your choice of taught modules, you will then undertake an extended dissertation on an intellectual property law topic of your choice, supervised by a member of staff with expertise in their chosen subject area.

Core Modules

• Introduction to International Intellectual Property Law (credits 15)
• Advanced Issues of International Intellectual Property Law (credits 15)
• Applied Research Methods (credits 15)
• Dissertation (of 10,000 (credits 60), 15,000 (credits 75) or 20,000 (credits 90) words)
• An indicative list of optional modules from other LLM Streams.

  N.B. Not all modules run every year

  • Advanced Issues in Human Rights
  • Advanced Issues in International Economic Law
  • Contemporary Issues of International Intellectual Property Law
  • China and the International Legal Order
  • Current Problems in International Law
  • Free Speech Problems in International and Comparative Perspective
  • Global Environmental Law
  • Horizontal Human Rights
  • International Counter Terrorism: Theory and Practice
  • International Humanitarian Law
  • International Investment Law
  • International Perspectives on Law and Gender
  • International Protection of Human Rights
  • International Tax Law
  • International Trade Law & Policy
  • Introduction to EU Law
  • Introduction to International Criminal Justice
  • Law of the Sea
  • Multinational Corporations and Human Rights
  • Advanced Issues in Corporate Law
  • Advanced Law of Obligations
  • Competition Law
  • Corporate Compliance
  • Cross-Border Commercial Litigation
  • Current Issues in Commercial Law
  • Frontiers in Biolaw
  • Fundamentals of Corporate Law
  • International Commercial Dispute Resolution
  • International Sales Law
  • Introduction to Corporate Governance
  • Law of Oil and Gas Contracts
  • Medical Law and Ethics
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Takeover Regulation in the EU

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

See the course listing for more information.