Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Law I: Intellectual Property and Patents

Law I: Intellectual Property and Patents
3
16330
2
Second semester
OB
Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish,

Teaching staff


Email.

Introduction

This course introduces students to the legal framework governing the protection of creativity, innovation and intangible assets in the fields of communication, advertising and the creative industries. It examines the main mechanisms for protecting intellectual and industrial property, as well as the rights of authors, creators and companies over their works, trademarks, designs, patents and other intangible assets.

The course provides a practical overview of the legal framework applicable to audiovisual, advertising and digital creations, with particular emphasis on the management of exploitation rights, licensing, contractual agreements and the legal challenges arising from digitalisation, online platforms and artificial intelligence.

Pre-course requirements

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Objectives

  • To understand the legal foundations of intellectual property and industrial property.
  • To distinguish between the different legal mechanisms for protecting creative works and innovation.
  • To understand the moral and economic rights of authors.
  • To analyse the legal protection of trademarks, patents, industrial designs and digital domain names.
  • To understand the legal framework governing the assignment, exploitation and licensing of intellectual property rights.
  • To identify the main legal challenges arising from digitalisation, the Internet and artificial intelligence.

Syllabus

Block 1. Fundamentals of Intellectual and Industrial Property
  • Concept and evolution of intellectual property.
  • Intellectual property vs. industrial property.
  • National and international legal framework.
Block 2. Copyright
  • The work as the object of legal protection.
  • Moral rights.
  • Economic (exploitation) rights.
  • Audiovisual and advertising works.
  • Works created within a professional context.
Block 3. Industrial Property
  • Trademarks.
  • Trade names.
  • Industrial designs.
  • Patents.
  • Utility models.
  • Internet domain names.
Block 4. Licensing and Exploitation of Rights
  • Assignment agreements.
  • Licensing agreements.
  • Collective rights management.
  • Creative Commons licences.
  • Digital content exploitation.
Block 5. Emerging Challenges
  • Artificial intelligence and authorship.
  • Digital platforms.
  • Piracy.
  • NFTs and digital assets.
  • Recent case law.

Bibliography and resources

Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 (Intellectual Property).

Law 24/2015 (Patents).

Law 17/2001 (Trademarks).

Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (European Union Trade Mark).

Berne Convention.

European Patent Convention (EPC).

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).