Overview
This unit introduces you to the innovation ecosystem and the place of intellectual property (IP) within that ecosystem. In the first half of the unit, you will learn about Australia’s statutory IP rights, including copyright, patents, designs, and trade marks, and the associated international IP conventions and treaties. You will also consider other rights regarding confidentiality and passing off. IP is an important business asset, and in the second half of the unit, you will investigate the commercialisation of IP; assignment, licensing, and the business risks involved in anti-competitive licensing. You will also be introduced to some fundamental considerations in the negotiation of IP licences, including relational contracting.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Co-requisite LAWS11057 and LAWS11059 for Law students. Pre-Req of LAWS11030 and co-requisite of LAWS12076 for Business students.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from SUTE 2023
I wanted to pay tribute to you for a truly wonderful experience in this unit. Regrettably, my timing was out with contracts so I missed out on you moderating that one when I was scheduled to do it, never mind. I wanted to say that you have been one of the best lecturers that I've had. What you bring to the unit and to my experience is high energy, enthusiasm, skill and deep knowledge, wisdom and understanding. You take the time to make every student feel important and part of a team effort.
Retain teaching strategies and style for maximum student engagement and enjoyment of the unit.
Feedback from SUTE 2023
Amanda is a highly enthusiastic and well-known scholarly academic with real-life practical judicial experience as a Legal practitioner and is also a renowned Legal Academic within the IP & Contracts sphere, with several publications. This experience, combined with her passionate approach to teaching and supporting students' journeys, is unmatched by any other academic I have encountered. Amanda appreciates the benefits of integrating her legal and research experience with education to enhance the experiences of her wider audience. Amanda is determined to generate an atmosphere where her students are provided with special customised high-quality utensils to benefit their understanding of the principle of IP law and successful ways to relate to them in real life. While having Amanda as my Unit coordinator for IP law in Term 01-2023, where I attended her unit, she was delivering, I experienced an unreal exceptional teaching style in person, which was full of passion, determination, deep knowledge, excitement, and genuine willingness to part the knowledge to others so they can make a difference in the IP law world. IP Law was a practical unit requiring not just up-to-date knowledge of the legislation but also the advancement outside of the legal arena (research), and with Amanda's extraordinary grasp of the content, her exceptional teaching skills and willingness to elevate our ability to analyse and thought process, I was able to enhance my understanding on the components that formed part of the unit. Amanda's teaching style has been instrumental in carving into me; what makes a Legal professional successful while collaborating with clients and other constraints that can sometimes be challenging due to the changing boundaries a legal professional has to work within the IP world. This unit has been one of my highlights of the Law degree due to its sensational and innovative delivery style and engaging content. This learning model promoted a prominent level of engagement, enthusiasm, and focus, which in turn shaped us to perform to the best of our ability and understand the role IP law plays in the modern world driven by AI and its enhancement. The carefully compiled study guides for the unit were beneficial in enlightening our understanding of the subject. Amanda's tutorials were highly engaging, and her delivery focused on the wider cohort and their understanding, not just the high performers. Her delivery was customed to the group's needs, which was an exciting approach to experience as if we were unaware of the content dynamics; she took us on a journey to ensure we could understand what was required. This often got her to go past the tutorial times and probably effecting her personal commitments but she never displayed that and was always keen to carry the discussion on to answer any and all queries we had. The post-assessment feedback was truly relevant to my work and was not a generic response either, which shows how much she values the contribution made by every individual. We were informed of our strength areas that we need to continue with but also of areas that needed focus and how to enhance our practices to accommodate these gaps. Amanda was frequently available to support me with any explorations concerning the coursework, projects, and assessments when I wanted guidance on an ad-hoc basis and at times with no notice. Due to the support of Amanda, I have improved my analytical learning with the ability to critically reflect on the elements that form part of the IP Law world. I want to thank CQU for making her services available to us and Amanda for her continued support, guidance, and unmatched dedication to ensuring her students are supported throughout the term and beyond.
Retain teaching strategies and style for maximum student engagement and enjoyment of the unit.
- Identify and apply legal principles relating to confidential information, copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and the protection of business reputation.
- Assess the legal and practical steps needed to ensure that intellectual property rights remain valid and enforceable.
- Analyse ownership rights and marketing protection under intellectual property law as applicable to information, ideas, creativity and innovation.
- Critically analyse intellectual property protection and commercialisation issues, and potential business and competition law risks.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
Commercialisation of Intellectual Property
1st edition (2019)
Authors: Natalie Stoianoff, Fred Chilton, Ann L Monotti
Lexis Nexis Butterworths
Chatswood Chatswood , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9780409340648
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
There are licences available to use the book in the CQUniversity library.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Webcam and microphone for participation in tutorials
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.m.george@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Overview of intellectual property
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 1;
- Natalie P Stoianoff, Fred Chilton and Anne L Monotti, Commercialisation of Intellectual Property (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2019) (Text):
- Chapter 1, 'Setting the Scene for Intellectual Property Commercialisation'; and
- Chapter 2, 'Overview of Intellectual Property Rights'.
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Copyright Law
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 2;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Patent Law
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 3;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Trade marks
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 4;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Passing off and Australian competition law
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 5;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Vacation week
Chapter
Vacation week
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Designs and Confidential Information
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 6;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Bigger Picture of Innovation & IP: Regulatory Context
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 7;
- Text, chapter 3: 'Drivers of Innovation';
- Amanda-Jane George and Julie-Anne Tarr, 'Addressing Australia’s collaboration ‘problem’: Is there a Brave New World of innovation policy post COVID-19?' (Australian Journal of Public Administration);
- (Optional): Amanda-Jane George, Julie-Anne Tarr and Susan Bird, 'Forty Years of Freedom of Information (FOI): Accountability, Policymaking and the National Innovation and Science Agenda' (2020) 31 PLR 189-211;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Commercialisation I: Ownership and Employment Issues
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 8;
- Text, chapter 4, 'Issues Regarding the Development of Intellectual Property';
- Amanda George and Julie-Anne Tarr, 'Faculty and employee ownership of inventions in Australia' (2010) 28(1) Nature Biotechnology. (You will need your CQUniversity library login to access this link);
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Commercialisation II: Business Structures for IP Commercialisation, Funding
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 9;
- Text, chapter 5, 'Structures for Commercialisation';
- Text, chapter 6, 'Funding Innovation and Commercialisation';
- (Optional) Text, chapter11, 'Security and Insolvency', **but only paragraphs 11.1-11.46;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Licensing I: Negotiation - Relational versus Adversarial Approaches (Or a Bit of Both?)
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 10;
- Text, chapter 8, 'Licensing of Intellectual Property Rights';
- David Frydlinger, Tim Cummins, Kate Vitasek and Jim Bergman, 'Unpacking Relational Contracts' (Haslam College of Business, IACCM and Lindahl, 2017);
- Noel Byrne and Amanda McBratney, Licensing Technology (Jordan Publishing, 2006), chapter 4, 'Negotiating the Licensing Contract';
- (Optional): Captain Greg Lazton, 'The FFG Enterprise - Excellence in Asset Management through Collaboration';
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Licensing II: The licensing agreement (the nuts and bolts)
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 11;
- Text, chapter 9, 'Drafting Licences';
- Text, chapter 10, 'Multimedia Licensing and Commercialisation in the Age of the Digital Entrepreneur';
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Licensing III: Licensing and competition law
Chapter
- Study guide, lecture video and slides for week 12;
- Any other resources as advised on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
This assessment task will consist of 10 multiple choice questions covering weeks 1 to 3. The assessment task will assess topics covered in weeks 1 to 3.
Week 4 Friday (29 Mar 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Complete and submit via link on Moodle.
One week after close of quiz.
A sound understanding of the different IP regimes and their basic features - 40%
A good understanding of the nature and scope of copyright law - 30%
A good understanding of the nature and scope of patent law - 30%
- Identify and apply legal principles relating to confidential information, copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and the protection of business reputation.
- Assess the legal and practical steps needed to ensure that intellectual property rights remain valid and enforceable.
- Analyse ownership rights and marketing protection under intellectual property law as applicable to information, ideas, creativity and innovation.
2 Written Assessment
This assessment will examine student's knowledge of selected topics covered up to Week 6 and it will be based on hypothetical problem scenarios. You will be required to address legal problems on IP protection with the aid of primary and secondary legal sources. See further detailed information to be released on Moodle under the Assessment tile.
Week 7 Friday (26 Apr 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Complete and submit via link on Moodle.
Two weeks from due date.
This assessment will be assessed according to the following criteria: quality of the statement of the legal issue(s) (10%), and rules/legal principles (30%); correct and thorough analysis and application of the rules and legal principles to the legal issue(s) (40%); well thought-out conclusion (10%), and quality of the language usage and observance of proper structure, format, and instructions (10%).
- Identify and apply legal principles relating to confidential information, copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and the protection of business reputation.
- Assess the legal and practical steps needed to ensure that intellectual property rights remain valid and enforceable.
- Analyse ownership rights and marketing protection under intellectual property law as applicable to information, ideas, creativity and innovation.
3 Written Assessment
Final research paper (min 2000, max 2300 words).
In this unit, you will encounter some complex subject matter which will hopefully inspire your research curiosity. For this final piece of assessment, you are encouraged to pursue your own individual research interests within the bounds of the unit material. You may develop your own, unique research question to pursue (in consultation with the Unit Coordinator, who will be able to provide you with assistance in scoping your research question appropriately for the task).
If you decide to develop your own research question to write on, you must have emailed your paper proposal to Unit Coordinator for approval by the end of week 5. Your paper proposal must demonstrate that you have considered the following issues in order to submit the paper on time and in a well-researched manner:
- What is the research question or problem that you wish to write about? Clearly define the research problem and how you want to address it;
- Why do you want to research this issue? You should show that you have at least conducted a preliminary review of the literature to demonstrate it is a research question worthy of study.
- How are you going to do it? You should show that you have a defined schedule for your literature review that is achievable, to allow time for the write-up of your paper and submission by the due date.
If you do NOT wish to develop your own research question to write on, you will submit a final individual paper on only ONE of the following topics:
- 1. Proposition: "With the UK Supreme Court's final decision in Thaler (Appellant) v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Respondent), [2023] UKSC 49, the highest courts of the UK, US and Australia have now rejected Thaler's bid for recognition of DABUS, his AI machine, as an inventor under patent law in these countries. These decisions are correct both in law and practice, and will not deter development and commercialisation of generative AI. Discuss.
(Here, you will need to research and explain the Artificial Inventor Project, critically analyse the relevant decisions (including the UK Supreme Court decision, US Supreme Court decision, Australian Full Federal Court decision and High Court special leave application transcript), take a stand (for or against) the proposition, and present a compelling argument justifying your position drawing on your knowledge gained in this unit. You will comment on legislative obstacles to patentability for AI-generated inventions, and examine the extent to which AI-related commercialisation activities depend on patents (including the UK government's report 'Intellectual property and investment in Artificial Intelligence'), and the incentivisation rationale for the IP system. You will need to support your argument with appropriate research, citing legislation, case law, articles, reports, books, etc).
OR
- 2. Proposition: "The Australian government's track record on innovation policy is disappointing and there is little to indicate improvement in the near term." Discuss.
(Here, you will need to draw on your knowledge gained in this unit (particularly in the latter half) to take a stand for or against the proposition and present a compelling argument justifying your position. You will need to critically evaluate and discuss the history of innovation policy in this country, citing specific initiatives (and their advantages and disadvantages) and the current government's approach to innovation policy (perhaps citing case examples to illustrate and support your argument(s)). You will need to support your work with appropriate research, citing policy, and commentary in articles, reports, books, etc).
OR
- 3. Scenario: Your clients are two university professors who have developed an exciting innovation in artificial intelligence large language models; they have not yet considered any IP protection. The university has been approached by the large US AI company, Open AI, to discuss the possibility of a long-term commercial relationship potentially involving worldwide sales. They have also been approached to discuss their development at an international conference. Advise the professors (citing appropriate research, such as legislation, case law, articles, reports, books, etc) regarding:
- any IP protections they will need to put in place,
- how to structure their commercialisation activities with an appropriate business model,
- the best way for the team to approach the negotiation process with Open AI; and
- the salient factors they will need to take into account when arriving at any potential licensing terms.
PLEASE NOTE: to counter the use of AI language machines, for all assessments MUST submit a research diary to indicate the resources they have consulted, and how the resources developed their thinking. A document including:
(1) a table of resources,
(2) date(s) that the resources were consulted, and
(3) notes on the student's interpretation of the resources is required.
A simple list of resources resembling a bibliography is NOT acceptable. Note that the lecturer has already run these assessment questions through generative AI and knows how it will respond.
Exam Week Monday (10 June 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Submit via link on Moodle.
Results to be released following certification of grades
| High Distinction | Distinction | Credit | Pass | Fail | |
| Formulation of argument for essays | Well-crafted argument that evidences a mastery of relevant legal and or issues. May make astute observations on pertinent social, cultural or ethical factors that bear directly upon the issue, while remaining concise. Logically persuasive line of reasoning on the topic(s) chosen. | Argument identifies all or almost all of the relevant issues and is progressed in a forthright, convincing manner. May make other pertinent connections on the subject matter without digressing into irrelevant issues. | Argument Identifies most of the relevant issues and discusses these with solid competence. May digress into irrelevant areas or show some unwarranted assumptions or leaps of logic. | Argument identifies a many of the relevant issues but may wander off topic or become distracted with irrelevancies. | Argument misses a significant proportion of the issues and/or focuses on irrelevant ones. |
| Written paper structure, format and writing style. Referencing style. | Exceptionally well written: clear, concise, free of spelling, grammatical errors; consistent and accurate referencing using the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC). Possibly with extra creative flair. | Very well written: clear, free of spelling, grammatical errors; consistent and accurate referencing using AGLC. | Overall well written: clear, mostly free of spelling, grammatical errors; mostly consistent and accurate referencing using AGLC. | Adequately written: may lack consistency; digresses; needs to develop ideas. Inconsistent or inaccurate use of AGLC. | Simplistic; tends to summarize; illogical or poorly developed ideas; many grammatical, spelling errors; too longwinded; little use of AGLC). |
| Written advice (if relevant to assessment) | Clear mastery of all suggested aspects of advice, comprehensive research to support advice, taking account of all practical legal and business issues. Demonstrates exceptional insights of benefit to the client's strategy and practice. | Very well written advice, demonstrating a high level of understanding of all issues, with commendable level of supporting research. Demonstrates valuable insights for client's strategy and practice. | Overall well written advice, demonstrating a good level of understanding of the issues, with a good level of supporting research. Demonstrates some insights for the client. | Adequately written advice covering most issues, with a sound level of research. | Simplistic advice, missing most or all of the issues, or incorrectly advising the client. Little evidence of independent research. |
- Identify and apply legal principles relating to confidential information, copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and the protection of business reputation.
- Analyse ownership rights and marketing protection under intellectual property law as applicable to information, ideas, creativity and innovation.
- Critically analyse intellectual property protection and commercialisation issues, and potential business and competition law risks.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
