CQUniversity Unit Profile.

This assessment task will consist of 10 multiple choice questions and will assess topics covered in Weeks 1 to 3.

Students will have one hour to complete the Quiz once they commence their attempt. The Quiz will include multiple choice questions only.

The Quiz will open at the start of Week 4, on Monday 3 August 2026, and will close at 11:45 pm on Friday 7 August 2026, Queensland time.

You must complete the Quiz by submitting your answers to all questions online. You have one attempt to complete and submit your answers. You must therefore complete the Quiz in one sitting. You cannot save your answers and return to them or amend them at a later date.

Open attempts will be submitted automatically when the time limit of one hour expires and/or when the due date and time is reached.

This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). The use of AI tools or technology is prohibited in the completion of this Quiz. This is a Level 1 AIAS assessment. Any misuse of AI tools, or failure to comply with the AI requirements for this assessment, may be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Extensions of more than 14 days are not available for this assessment. Due to the need to provide prompt feedback to students, and the content of feedback provided, submissions received after the assessment has been returned to students cannot be accepted for academic integrity reasons. Students seeking extensions beyond this timeframe will be required to undertake a different version of the assessment task.

Due to the nature of this task, the 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Understanding of the different IP regimes and their basic features - 40%

Understanding of the the nature and scope of copyright law - 30%

Understanding of the nature and scope of patent law - 30%

This assessment will examine student's knowledge of selected topics covered up to Week 6 and it will be based on a hypothetical problem scenario. 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.

***PLEASE NOTE: this assessment is designed to develop your understanding of the various IP rights as well as your critical thinking and analytical skills in applying them to a real-world situation. Accordingly, students MUST NOT use GENERATIVE AI in completing this assessment and its associated research tasks.

Note that the lecturer runs all assessment questions through generative AI and knows how it will respond, including hallucinations and fake case names/citations. In addition, Turnitin will likely be able to detect AI usage. (Yes, I'm serious about the "no AI usage" in this unit).

If you are found to have used AI in your assessment piece, it will be graded at ZERO.

CRITERIA:

This assessment item is worth 30 marks and comprises 30% of your overall grade. It will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• identification of legal issues (5 marks, 5%);
• identification and analysis of relevant law (7.5 marks, 7.5%);
• application of the law to the factual scenario (7.5 marks, 7.5%);
• ability to provide clear, supportable conclusions (5 marks, 5%); and
• effective communication, structure and referencing (5 marks, 5%).

See the below rubric:

Final research paper (min 2000, max 2200 words, exclusive of footnotes).

In this unit, you will encounter some complex subject matter which will hopefully inspire your research curiosity. For this final piece of assessment, you have 3 options:

1. Design your own assessment:

The second half of the unit material in particular is designed to get you thinking about entrepreneurship, government innovation policy and commercialisation. The material is deliberately provocative to get you thinking about your own views and opinions on the subject matter. You are encouraged to pursue your own individual research interests within the bounds of the second half of the unit material (it may straddle the first half of unit material (IP rights) but with the emphasis on a policy or commercialisation issue). 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:

1. 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;
2. 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 that it is a research question worthy of study.
3. 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.

OR If you do NOT wish to develop your own research question to write on, you must submit a final individual paper on only ONE of the following topics:

2. Present a critical analysis: 

Critically analyse whether existing patent law frameworks are capable of responding to inventions substantially developed through artificial intelligence-assisted research and development.

In your answer, compare the Australian approach to inventorship, entitlement and patent ownership with at least one overseas jurisdiction. You should consider whether the law’s continued focus on a human inventor is conceptually and commercially appropriate where AI systems play a significant role in identifying, generating or optimising an invention.

Your analysis should address the distinction between an invention that is merely AI-assisted and one that is claimed to be AI-generated. You should also consider the commercialisation consequences of uncertainty around inventorship and entitlement, including who may apply for a patent, who may assign rights, and whether investors or commercial partners are likely to be deterred by uncertainty in the legal framework.

In light of your analysis, discuss whether reform is required in Australia. If reform is required, identify what form it should take. If reform is not required, explain why the existing patent framework remains adequate.

This assignment requires critical analysis rather than description. You should not merely summarise cases or commentary. You should ask whether the law is coherent, whether it produces commercially workable outcomes, and whether patent law is the correct mechanism for incentivising AI-assisted innovation.

OR

3. Argue a proposition: 

“Australia’s innovation policy problem is not a lack of ideas, but a failure to convert research and invention into commercially successful outcomes.”

Discuss this proposition by critically examining Australia’s innovation policy settings and their relationship with intellectual property commercialisation.

In your answer, you may consider examples such as university research commercialisation, government innovation programs, IP Australia resources, patent filing behaviour, start-up funding, collaboration between universities and industry, or past national innovation strategies. You should select specific examples and use them to support your argument.

Your discussion should consider whether Australia’s policy settings adequately support the movement from research and invention to market-ready products and services. You should also consider whether intellectual property law and government policy are working together effectively, or whether there are gaps between legal protection, funding, commercialisation skills and market adoption.

You should take a clear position. You may agree, disagree, or partly agree with the proposition, but your answer must be supported by reasoned argument, evidence and independent research. The strongest answers will go beyond general statements about innovation and will critically assess whether current policy settings actually help Australian innovators commercialise their intellectual property.

***PLEASE NOTE: this assessment is designed to develop your critical thinking and analytical skills, so students MUST NOT use GENERATIVE AI in completing this assessment and its associated research tasks. Any assessment found to have been using AI will be graded at ZERO.

To counter the potential unauthorised use of generative AI LLM models such as ChatGPT and Copilot, ALL students MUST submit a REFLECTIVE RESEARCH DIARY with this assessment to indicate (1) the resources they have consulted, (2) dates the resources were consulted, and (3) how the resources developed their thinking in the assessment. To avoid any doubt, a document with a TABLE including the following must be copied and pasted at the end of the student's final assignment:

(1) resources utilised in the assessment (designate all resources, including articles, website URLs, videos, etc. If you have referred to a resource in your work, it must be included here in the table),

(2) date(s) that the resources were consulted, and

(3) brief notes/reflection on how the resources were influential on the arguments presented in the student's final assignment. THIS IS MANDATORY, if I cannot tell how you developed your thinking in this assignment with the use of the resources, then the diary will NOT be sufficient and you will receive a grade of ZERO. A simple list of resources resembling a bibliography is NOT acceptable. This reflective research diary requirement is not difficult: as you are researching, keep your reflective diary document open, and jot down your resources as you gather them. As you then read through the resources, make notes in your diary about what you're thinking and how it is impacting on your critical analysis of the topic you've chosen. See further the rubric below. The diary attracts 10 marks or 10% of your final grade. See further the rubric below.

Pedagogically, there are good reasons - apart from reducing the risk of AI usage - for requiring you to do a reflective research diary or memorandum. These are often required for larger research projects, and will be required if you go on to do postgraduate research. So, it's a great idea to start getting into the habit of doing one "as you go" with your research now.

Note that the lecturer has already run these assessment questions through generative AI and knows how it will respond. In addition, Turnitin will likely be able to detect AI usage. (Yes, as you can gather, I'm serious about the "no AI usage" in this unit).