Law of Trade Marks and Brands, The (LAWS0072)

This module seeks to cover the main aspects of UK trade mark law and passing off.

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The aim of this module is to provide students with a detailed understanding of the law of trade marks in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The module will examine the system for registered marks (including the process of registration, revocation, invalidity and infringement) as well as common law marks/unfair competition. At the end of the module students will be enabled to demonstrate the following:

• A systematic understanding of the law of trade marks and its operation in the UK and European Union.
• A critical awareness of issues and problems relating to the system for registered marks, (including the process of registration, revocation, invalidity and infringement) and also common law marks.
• The ability to critically analyse and interpret relevant legislation, the relevant case law of the UK courts and the European Court of Justice and academic literature in the field.

Module syllabus

This module is subject to change.

• Introduction to Intellectual Property and Trade Marks
• Passing Off
• Registration and Subject Matter
• Absolute Grounds for the Refusal of Registration
• Relative Grounds for the Refusal of Registration
• Infringement
• Defences
• Revocation and Invalidity
• Parallel Importation

Recommended materials

Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, once students have made their module selections upon enrolment.

Preliminary reading

• W. Cornish, Intellectual Property: Omnipresent, Distracting, Irrelevant? (OUP, Oxford, 2004), Ch.3
• A. Kur, ‘Fundamental concerns in the harmonization of (European) trademark law’, Ch.6 in G. Dinwoodie & M. Janis, Trademark Law and Theory: A Handbook of Contemporary Research (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2008)

Key information