Syllabus Spring 2023

Intellectual Property Law (LAW 422.002/570C-002) Course Description:

This course provides students with an introduction to the legal regimes governing the protection of intellectual property. The course will cover the following specific areas of intellectual property law: copyright, trademarks, and patents. In addition, students will be introduced to the common law actions of passing off and breach of confidence, international intellectual property law, and industrial design.

Instructor:

Jon Festinger, K.C.

jon.festinger@ubc.ca

jfestinger@telus.net

Office: Allard 449

C: (604) 837-6426

Credits:

3 credits

Class location and times:

Allard B101

Fridays from 1:30pm-4:20pm (Spring Term)

Office hours:

After class or by appointment.  Email questions are welcome.

Evaluation:

Exam = 70% of grade

Your exam will take place during the April examination period.

You have the option of handwriting your exams or using the computerized exam software, ExamSoft. Detailed information on the use of ExamSoft can be found on the Allard School of Law website at: http://www.allard.ubc.ca/student-resources/jd-academic-services/registration-advising-exams/exam-policies-computerized-exams

Our exam will be an open book exam. There are no restrictions on the notes or materials that you may bring into the exam.

Paper/Presentation/Post = 20% of grade

This will be 500-1000 word (or equivalent) per person original piece of work that illuminates some aspect of Intellectual Property Law. It can be in any form, posted to the course website or not, and can be approached individually or as a group.

Participation = 10% of grade

Participation is broadly defined includes any or all:

• class contributions however made.
• website contributions.
• email or other discussions with Instructor.

Materials:

There is one required casebook for this course, namely: Greg Hagen, Cameron Hutchison, Graham Reynolds, Teresa Scassa, Margaret Ann Wilkinson, Teshager Dagne, Canadian Intellectual Property Law: Cases and Materials, 3^rd ed. (Toronto: Emond, 2022)

This casebook is available for purchase at the UBC Bookstore. A previous edition was used in the Allard IP course for the last three years. Used copies may be available. I may supplement this casebook with additional materials throughout the year.

An additional text that you might find helpful is David Vaver, Intellectual Property Law, 2^nd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law Inc, 2011). It is not mandatory to purchase this additional text, which is available in the Law Library reference room.

Open Course Website: https://iplaw.allard.ubc.ca

Examination Accommodations and Deferrals:

Students requesting an examination accommodation or deferral should obtain from and submit forms to the Assistant Dean, Students, who will coordinate with the Chair of the Examinations Committee. Individual faculty may not grant examination accommodations.

Accommodating Students with Disabilities:

Students requiring accommodations on exams or assignments pursuant to a disability or requiring arrangements for classroom assistance pursuant to a disability, should contact the Centre for Accessibility, located in Brock Hall. The Centre for Accessibility will assess all accommodation requests and make all accommodation decisions. Instructors are not permitted to assess or adjudicate individual students’ requests for accommodation.

Email communication/Connect:

During the term I may send emails out to the entire class. These emails will be sent through the Faculty Service Centre to the email addresses that students have registered with the Student Service Centre website (SSC). Please read these emails. Students will be deemed to have received course information sent by email.

A classroom space has also been set up on Canvas. I will be uploading the lists of required reading material and additional resources to this classroom space. I may also upload other information and resources, including the class syllabus.

Academic Misconduct/Plagiarism:

All Allard School of Law students are subject to the University’s rules on Academic Misconduct (http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959), and are expected to act with academic integrity at all times. Students should be especially aware of the University’s rules in relation to plagiarism. If you plagiarize, you may be subject to penalties set out in the UBC calendar for academic misconduct: (http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,960)

If you would like to learn more about academic misconduct, visit the UBC Library’s website on academic integrity (http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/guide-to-academic-integrity/). Examples of academic misconduct can also be found in the UBC Annual Report on Student Discipline (http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/discipline/).

Schedule of classes and readings:

L#	Date	Topic	Materials/Comments
1.	Friday, Jan 13, 2023	Introduction	None
2.	Friday, Jan 20, 2023	Copyright: Overview; what is copyrightable?	CB: 1-55
3.	Friday, Jan 27, 2023	Copyright: Rights of copyright owners	CB: 55-84, 90-127, 134-135, 145-147 (not including C. Collective Administration of Rights)
4.	Friday, Feb 3, 2023	Copyright: Users’ rights	CB: 151-156, 162-206 (until H. Exception Related…)
5.	Friday, Feb 10, 2023	Copyright: Enforcement of rights, remedies & Copyright: Review	CB: 224-225 (until Nintendo of America v. King), 239-245, 249-261
6.	Friday Feb 17, 2023	Trademarks: Passing off.	CB: 303-313 (including the introduction to 1. Goodwill or Reputation and a. Secondary Meaning), 317-341 (including the introduction to b. The Geographic Ambit of Goodwill), 350-352 (including the introduction to c. Shared Goodwill), 360-392 (including the introduction to 3. Damage), 400-401
	Friday, Feb 24, 2023	No Class – Spring Term Reading Week
7.	Friday, March 3, 2023	Trademarks: Introduction, what is a trademark; the concept of use; registration process; ownership, transfer, licensing; deregistration.	CB: 403-442, 447-448, 453-467
8.	Friday, March 10, 2023	Trademarks: Confusion; infringement and remedies & Trademarks: Review.	CB: 467-533
9.	Friday, March 17, 2023	Patents: overview, patentable subject matter, application process, claims construction, file wrapper estoppel, various prosecution topics	CB: 584-588 (up to B. An Example Patent), 593-603 (until Canada (AG) v. Amazon.com, Inc), 615-616 (until Apotex, Inc.), 625 (until Lawson), 628-647, 696-708, 734-753, 756-757.
10.	Friday, March 24, 2023	Patents: methods of medical treatment, requirements of patentability (utility); requirements of patentability (novelty, non-obviousness); miscellaneous patent topics.	CB: 670-673 (until 5. Forms of Energy), 675-681, 681-696, 708-725 (until VII. Claims Construction), 734-735, 753-756 Please also read paras. 26 – 63 of AstraZeneca Canada Inc. v. Apotex Inc., 2017 SCC 36.
11.	Friday, March 31, 2023	Patents: remedies for patent infringement; miscellaneous other patent litigation topics (Guest Lecturer)	CB:  760-762, 767-end. Please also read White, Burgess v. Abbott 2015 SCC 23
12	Friday, April 7, 2023	1. Course review 2. Exam review	Sample Exam