Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law

The subject explores this Australian intellectual property regime in predominantly black-letter terms. It asks students to consider the doctrinal issues implicated by the various aspects of copyright law: subsistence, ownership, infringement, exceptions to infringement and remedies. Also integrated with the curriculum are moral and performers' rights, and the treatment of internet service provider liability as an intermediary between copyright owner and infringer. The subject is structured within an international framework, explaining the importance of treaty norms and with selective use of comparative law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The evolution and theory of the national and international copyright system
• The material protected by copyright
• The duration of protection
• The rights granted by copyright
• Infringement of copyright, including defences and available remedies
• Ownership, licensing and assignment of copyright
• Moral rights and their infringement
• Copyright law in international perspective.

This subject will be delivered via a 'flipped classroom' model. The substantive content delivery will occur largely outside the classroom, with videos and notes provided to students via Canvas modules. Class hours will be spent applying and debating these principles (and related policy) in order to develop higher level cognitive, problem-solving, advocacy and reasoning skills.

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Design plays a critical role in the production and marketing of goods. Adequate protection of designs is important in order to encourage the creation of innovative products and thus enhance the Australian and New Zealand economies. This subject is primarily concerned with the laws in both countries. It will focus first on the registered regimes for protecting designs under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth), as well as the protection of designs as original artistic works under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). It will then deal with the differences of law and practice that arise under the Designs Act 1953 (NZ) and the Copyright Act 1994 (NZ).

This subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group I’.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Registrable designs: definition of design and registrability requirements
• Application and registration procedures and Designs Office practice
• Duration of registration and removal procedures
• Registration, examination, certification and infringement
• Defences to, and remedies for, infringement
• Ownership, transfer and exploitation of design rights
• Rectification and correction of the Register
• Artistic works protected by copyright and the designs/copyright overlap
• Relationship of designs protection to innovation patents under the Patents Act 1990
• The treatment of registered designs under New Zealand law and the availability of copyright protection for designs under New Zealand law
• International conventions and the protection of designs.

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Fundamentals of Intellectual Property provides a good introduction to intellectual property (IP) for students wishing to pursue more specialised graduate studies in this area. It also provides a general overview of IP law for students studying an overall commercial and trade law program.

The objective of this subject is to provide an introduction to, and general overview of, the various Australian laws protecting IP, with reference to New Zealand IP laws. IP laws, including patent, design and copyright laws, are directed at the encouragement and protection of innovations in science, technology and cultural goods. IP laws, like trade mark and unfair competition laws also protect brands, reputations and other important commercial interests. The subject will also introduce the international framework of treaties under which the owners of IP from one country can seek protection in another country.

The subject will be taught by:

• four ‘pre-teaching’ weeks conducted online (outside the classroom)
• one-week intensive conducted on-campus (in the classroom)

This subject is delivered using a ‘flipped classroom’ approach. You will spend the pre-teaching period studying readings and viewings provided via Canvas modules to learn the key principles and policies. Then, in the on-campus seminars, we will discuss, debate, and apply these principles and policies to cultivate higher level cognitive, problem-solving, advocacy, and reasoning skills.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The concept of IP
• Rationales for IP laws
• Copyright, including protection and infringement
• Registered designs, including protection and infringement
• Trade marks and related laws, including protection and infringement
• Patents, including protection and infringement
• Protection of confidential information and trade secrets under general law
• Traditional knowledge
• International IP treaties

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This subject teaches students the fundamental principles and basic skills of drafting patent specifications. It does so through a combination of in-class instruction sessions on a range of topics, in-class drafting exercises with review sessions, and out-of-class drafting exercises with tutorial review sessions. Students are assessed by two practical assessment tasks, undertaken individually outside the classroom. Passing the subject will satisfy the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for Topic Group G: Drafting patent specifications. The lecturers for this subject include a number of practising patent attorneys with substantial experience teaching drafting skills.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History and nature of specifications and claims
• Approaches to claim drafting
• Interpreting claims
• Drafting basic claims
• Drafting product claims with reference to prior art
• Drafting process and method claims
• Preparing a description
• Consequences of drafting.

Teachers’ Note:

This subject is an accredited subject towards qualification as a Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney by the TTIPAB. Students participating in this subject are mostly training patent attorneys who work in the intellectual property industry and have day-to-day contact with patent specifications as part of their job roles. Students who do not have such external exposure to patent specifications will find it challenging to pass this course.

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This subject focuses on Intellectual Property (IP) protection in the Asia-Pacific region. Fuelled by its rising geopolitical importance, the region presents a complex and evolving landscape for IP rights. In this subject we will undertake a critical and comparative analysis of IP laws across key economies like China, India, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries.

Our analysis will encompass large, developed economies and smaller, developing ones. Furthermore, we will explore how recent trade agreements, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), alongside various free trade agreements within the region and with major players like the US and EU, are shaping not only the regional but also the international landscape of IP protection.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Comparative IP Law: This will be the core focus, examining similarities and differences in legal frameworks for IP protection across key Asian economies. It will include patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and potentially other forms of IP.
• Impact of Trade Agreements: The subject will explore how recent agreements like RCEP, CPTPP, and various free trade agreements within and beyond the region (US, EU) affect IP protection in the Asia-Pacific.
• Emerging Issues: The subject will examine current challenges and opportunities in the region, such as IP enforcement, technology transfer, and the protection of traditional knowledge.
• Practical Applications: The subject will provide practical insights for practitioners seeking to advise parties who want to protect and commercialise their IP assets in the Asia-Pacific market.

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Intellectual property (IP) occupies a central, if actively contested, place in international trade and political relations. * The COVID-19 pandemic saw widespread calls for international IP rules to be effectively suspended in the interests of global equity, while its defenders claimed the IP system was critical to a global response to the pandemic. National security issues and the fallout from geopolitical shifts are accentuating tensions over IP, which has become more than a trade or economic issue. Major disputes have arisen between the world's three major trading economies, China, the European Union and the United States, over how effectively IP should be protected. Developing countries contend with political and economic pressure when seeking to maintain and exercise policy space in their IP systems to pursue national development priorities. Australia has defended its tobacco plain packaging measures over how to reconcile IP protection with public health , with wider implications for how the public interest is to be balanced with private rights. Formal dispute settlement has had to address the relationship between national IP laws and measures for national security. The significance of IP as an investment asset has seen increasing prospect for disputes under investment treaties.

International disputes over IP are an unavoidable consequence of the much stronger focus on IP in assessments of national economic and policy interests. But will these disputes be managed within the framework of the rule of law, or does economic and political power ultimately prevail? This is not a new question. From the mid 1980s, a growing perception that inadequate or unbalanced IP protection was undercutting the economic interests of major economies made disputation about IP inevitable. The resulting tensions were a critical factor behind the inclusion of IP standards in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) system of multilateral trade law, in the form of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). Rather than resolving disputes over IP protection through bilateral wrangling and unilateral pressure, the rule of law would be applied in a predictable, transparent and equitable way through the multilateral dispute settlement mechanism maintained by the WTO, building on the major conventions separately administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Yet TRIPS has been followed by a sharp rise in the conclusion of bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements that establish alternative or complementary sets of standards on IP and mechanisms to resolve IP disputes. The result is an intricate array of overlapping substantive standards and parallel forums for dispute settlement. And the very notion of settling disputes with reference to a stable and agreed body of law, through transparent multilateral procedures, faces a renewed challenge. The WTO's dispute settlement system is partially paralysed: the formal avenue for appeal remains in suspension, and governments seek to bridge their differences over reform proposals.

This subject enables students to navigate this complex legal landscape and to deal with its consequences from three interlocking perspectives: the practice of dispute settlement practice, the legal principles and public policy implications, and international governance and the management of trade and political relations at a time of tension. This will cover key international cases, strategies for treaty interpretation and approaches to reconciling IP protection with other policy imperatives and with other legal and regulatory systems. The course will examine the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the international response to it, including proposals for a waiver of TRIPS obligations, and will address the public health dimension of dispute settlement. We will also consider the implications of the increasing reference to national security considerations in relation to IP law and policy, and recent disputes concerning enforcement of patents in critical areas of information and communications technology.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• A practical anatomy of international intellectual property conventions, standards and institutions, from the creation of the major multilateral systems within WIPO and the WTO, to the current trend towards bilateral and regional deals
• The political economy of international intellectual property: the economic, political and technological factors driving disputation over IP and the creation of competing dispute settlement mechanisms, and the contemporary challenges for the continuing rule of law as the basis for containing and resolving disputes
• The core principles of international IP law: IP principles and the idea of 'balance', the preservation of 'space’ for domestic law and policy, the integration of trade law and public policy principles into international IP law, and integrating human rights perspectives and sustainable development goals into readings of IP conventions.
• The distinctive features of international IP dispute settlement: cause of action, sources of law, remedies and challenges for treaty interpretation
• Dispute settlement practice and emerging TRIPS Agreement jurisprudence under the WTO: a survey of TRIPS disputes and the use of TRIPS in cross retaliation, and a close analysis of landmark disputes, including tobacco plain packaging cases, and cases touching on national security and critical platform technologies.
• The implications of the WTO Ministerial Decision on TRIPS in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and of proposals for a pandemic waiver of TRIPS obligations.
• The evolving architecture of bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements covering IP: the practical implications for treaty interpretation, for the initiation, management and settlement of IP disputes in multiple fora, and for domestic law and policy
• Compliance and monitoring of compliance: the institutional mechanisms, and the sources of information for practitioners and government officials, for legal and policy analysts and for scholars.

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Over the past two decades, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) globally has become a major issue both for right holders and users, and one that has had profound implications in a number of important areas of public discourse, such as international trade, public health, education and research, national development and the promotion of biodiversity. This subject seeks to engage with all these issues, and begins with a discussion of the sources of international intellectual property (IP) law, including the principal IP treaties and the general architecture of the international IP system. It then considers a number of case studies where particular IP issues arise and where international solutions are presently being negotiated. It will also examine the growing tension between the territoriality of IPRs and the global scope of IP exploitation, considering how this clash plays out in the key area of private international law.

This subject consists of a survey of the economic, legal and political elements and forces that shape the international IP system.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to the international IP system, including the main producers and owners of IP, the institutional architecture and the treaty system, including those administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization (notably the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), and the emergence of bilateral and regional trade and investment protection treaties that have an impact on the protection of IP rights
• Instruments and strategies for obtaining protection internationally—the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid System, Hague System and regional systems
• Human rights, IP and the development agenda
• IPRs and public health
• IPRs and food security
• Biotechnology, access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge
• Access to knowledge
• The protection of names, marks and other identifiers and content, with particular reference to the internet
• Dispute settlement and private international law issues.

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Reading and interpreting patent specifications is a central part of a patent attorney's daily practice. It is also a critical feature of any patent litigation where both sides will be competing for alternative interpretations that favour their client. This subject is intended to hone these skills of analysis and interpretation, working on the basic legal principles that students seeking Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) accreditation have already obtained through their study of patent law and patent practice. It is taught by experienced attorneys and litigators, and meets the TTIPAB requirements for 'Topic Group H'.

This subject will be conducted with a number of case studies carried out by a team of practitioners to develop skills in the application of the rules of interpretation to patent specifications and in the application of Australian and New Zealand patent laws.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The validity of Australian and New Zealand patents and patent applications under the provisions of Australian and New Zealand laws concerned with support, sufficiency of description and utility
• The validity of Australian and New Zealand patents and patent applications in the light of prior art information supplied, including through prior published specifications and prior user
• The scope for making amendments to patent applications
• The infringement of Australian and New Zealand patents by a competitor's product or process.

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For at least 400 years, patent law has been the primary regulatory mechanism for optimising innovation. With more than two million patent applications filed annually around the world, the patent system is both highly complex and of great economic importance. This subject provides the foundational knowledge necessary for a professional understanding of patent law and the patent system. It does so through a combination of instructional sessions and hands-on workshop sessions. The instructional sessions provide students with an understanding of the fundamental principles of patent law, with a particular focus on the requirements for the grant of a valid patent and infringement of a patent. In the workshop sessions, students apply these principles to actual patent claims, prior art and infringing embodiments. Consideration is also given to the protection of trade secrets through the action in equity to restrain a breach of confidence. While the focus of the teaching will be on Australian law, the differences between this and New Zealand law will be identified and explored throughout the subject. Comparative reference will also be made to the law of the United States and countries that are members of the European Patent Convention. Successful completion of this subject satisfies the knowledge requirements specified by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) for ‘Topic Group E’.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Rationales for patent law
• Patentable subject matter
• Requirements for patentability – novelty, inventive step and utility
• Specification requirements – clarity, support, disclosure and best method
• Acts constituting infringement of a patent
• Interpreting the scope of the claim for infringement
• Ownership of patent rights
• Assignment and licensing of patent rights
• Trade secrets protection (breach of confidence)

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject builds on the material covered in the Trade Marks and Unfair Competition subject. Trade Mark Practice focusses on the procedures and practices of the Australian Trade Marks Office in obtaining and maintaining registered trademarks. It covers the relevant aspects of New Zealand trade mark procedures and practice where these are different from those in Australia. Thus, this subject is particularly valuable for students wishing to prosecute trade mark applications through those offices. The rights, privileges and responsibilities of a patent attorney and a trade marks attorney are also covered in the wider context of attorneys’ professional conduct. The lecturers in the subject have extensive experience in the obtaining of trade mark registrations and the subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group B’ and ‘Topic Group D’.

The emphasis of this subject is on the documentation, procedures and practice of the Australian Trade Marks Office and the relevant aspects of New Zealand trade mark procedure and practice.

The subject will be taught by:

• four ‘pre-teaching’ weeks conducted online (outside the classroom)
• one-week intensive conducted on-campus (in the classroom).

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The respective national offices, registers and official journals
• Determining the availability of a trade mark for use and registration, searching the Trade Marks Office database and other search options
• Applications for registration, including Madrid Protocol, Convention, divisional and series applications
• Examination and acceptance of applications
• Opposition to registration
• Initiating and opposing applications to remove a trade mark for non-use
• Amendment of applications and other documents; revocation post-registration
• Obtaining registration and renewal of registration
• Obtaining extensions of time
• New Zealand trade mark practice (relevant issues)
• Exploitation, including assignments and registration of security interests
• Parallel importations and Customs seizure
• International conventions and initiatives, and protecting trade marks in foreign countries
• The rights, privileges and professional responsibilities of a patent attorney and a trade marks attorney.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is concerned with the laws in Australia and New Zealand that protect trade marks. Trade marks play a pivotal role in the marketing of goods and services, and generally are one of a trader‘s most valuable assets. The protection of trade marks is thus of critical importance to all traders but is also important to consumers, who rely on the information conveyed by trade marks. This subject concentrates on the trade mark protection regime provided by the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), and involves a detailed study of the provisions of this Act and related case law, together with relevant aspects of the corresponding New Zealand laws and cases. The action for passing-off and actions for contravention of the Australian Consumer Law provisions in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and corresponding New Zealand statutory provisions, proscribing misleading and deceptive conduct are also covered.

This subject meets the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) requirements for ‘Topic Group C’.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The function of trade marks
• Registration of trade marks under Australian and New Zealand laws
• Infringement, defences and remedies
• Licensing and assignment, and other exploitation of trade marks
• Removal and cancellation of registration
• Management and maintenance of trade marks
• The action for passing-off and actions for contravention of the Australian Consumer Law provisions in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) proscribing misleading and deceptive conduct and the corresponding provisions under New Zealand law
• Other protections for name and insignia, including the domain name system.

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The conventional intellectual property (IP) system has historically been shaped by Western and European concepts of innovation, creativity, and originality, with implications for the theoretical structures and practical application of IP law. Responding to recent globalising trends in IP law, , developing countries and Indigenous communities have called into question the foundational principles of IP law, advocating greater recognition and respect of traditional knowledge (TK) systems and forms of cultural expression, and equity in the use of genetic resources (GR). This reframing of IP challenges the assumption that such material had 'fallen' into the public domain, free for exploitation without recognition or benefit sharing, akin to terra nullius.

This reframing of IP law and policy has had diverse influence at theoretical and practical levels, spurring policy debate, international negotiations and legislative reforms, and influencing judicial decisions and IP office practice. International debate has probed the relationship between IP conventions, notably the WTO TRIPS Agreement, and other areas of public international law like human rights (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), environmental law (Convention on Biological Diversity), and cultural heritage law (UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions). In May 2024, the World Intellectual Property Organisation concluded the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge, linking the patent system with GR and TK and recognising Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Developing countries have also integrated TK protection into recent trade agreements.

Domestically, many countries are revising IP laws or developing sui generis laws to protect TK and traditional cultural expressions, to govern access to GR, and to recognise Indigenous People's collective rights. Several initiatives in Australia are reshaping the interaction between IP and Indigenous knowledge systems, including practical tools for recognising Indigenous knowledge and customary laws and protocols, applying principles of prior informed consent, and equitable benefit sharing. These developments have increasing practical implications for the practice of patent, trademark and copyright law.

In this subject we will review the international legal and policy framework for TK and GR protection and survey domestic laws, mechanisms, and policy processes, with case studies from the Asia Pacific and Australia. We will also analyse tools within patent, trademark, and copyright law, critically utilise research databases. We will also feature guest lectures from Indigenous experts and representatives.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The context: respect, recognition, preservation and protection of traditional knowledge systems and genetic resources.
• Survey of traditional knowledge systems and related customary law and protocols.
• Indigenous experts' perspectives on the justice, equity, policy and practical dimensions of the protection of traditional knowledge.
• The international legal framework: human rights, environmental, cultural and intellectual property instruments.
• Genetic resources and traditional knowledge in the patent system.
• Indigenous and traditional communities and the law of trademarks and geographical indications.
• Indigenous and traditional cultural expressions and copyright law.
• Comparative analysis of current and proposed sui generis forms of protection of traditional knowledge.

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The “administrative state” is the combination of many agencies and bureaucratic institutions exercising the practical power of government. It is traditionally aligned with the executive branch, and is subject to administrative law. But the administrative state is undergoing significant change in many Western liberal legal systems, due to the rapid uptake of algorithmic tools and decision support systems. For example, the United Kingdom’s Home Office used an automated system to make initial decisions on people’s visa applications, in a process that was later found to introduce racist discrimination. Where will these changes lead us? How does the turn to artificial intelligence (AI) further the aims and activities of the executive branch of government? In what ways does AI introduce tensions and conflicts, and how is it connected with broader transformations—intended and unintended?

In this subject, students will gain knowledge of the technical systems being deployed in the administrative state today, as well as a broad overview of the impacts of algorithmic technologies. These include changes to decision-making, organisational change, the evolution of administrative processes, and involvement in transformative ideas like “government as a platform”. These changes will be considered in light of emerging public law and broader regulatory frameworks, including shifts in public law doctrine and fundamental principles.

Students will also have the opportunity to consider bigger-picture effects on the rule of law, legitimacy and authority, public values, and changing modes of evaluation that accompany hybrid human-machine systems. The administrative state has always been a hybrid of political, technical and legal form – combining professional bureaucracy, scientific management and efficiency goals with political and normative theory, doctrinal law and resonant social values. Amidst contemporary debates over AI ethics, fairness and safety, the administrative state is a uniquely important site for examining the impact of data-driven algorithmic technologies on democratic institutions and public values.

We will make regular reference to the Australian content, but examples and issues for discussion will be drawn also from the UK, USA, and the EU.

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Historically a computer was “programmed” by a human utilising a precise set of instructions. Within this paradigm the computer was able to “process” information “fed” to it and produce a particular output based on such programming and information.

The human input was clear and transparent. As artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved in concert with the internet, cloud computing, big data gathering, data storage and data processing capabilities and the ubiquitous uptake of interactive smartphones and other “smart” devices, the relationship between the computer and direct and immediate human stewardship or control of outputs has become less readily identifiable. In turn this has given rise to significant legal issues.

There are substantial legal implications of AI which require ongoing, flexible and informed responses from lawyers and legal policy makers. This subject seeks to inform practicing lawyers, legal policy makers and non-lawyers in respect of those issues and how they might be dealt with.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to AI. What is AI? Where is AI headed?
• The legal issues raised by AI
• The ethical issues raised by AI and particular applications of AI
• Overview of current AI legal reviews underway in the USA, EU and UK and Australia’s response to these reviews
• Intellectual property issues raised by AI
• Criminal liability in respect of AI
• Civil legal liability – examination of who is (or should be) responsible/liable for AI caused loss and harm.
• Mandatory insurance schemes for loss or damage caused by autonomous robots or AI
• The legal regimes governing use of AI in security, law enforcement and military contexts
• Privacy and confidentiality implications of AI

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Biotechnology in Asia-Pacific is advancing at an unprecedented pace with major economies like China and Japan implementing ambitious national biotech strategies.

This introductory subject offers an accessible yet comprehensive examination of biotechnology regulations across the region, requiring no scientific background. Students will explore legal frameworks governing healthcare and pharmaceutical safety, agricultural biotechnology, GMO and gene-edited food regulations, intellectual property, data governance, and economic security, with a focus on international cooperation in commercial development and national economic security considerations. Through comparative case studies, we will examine how Asian jurisdictions balance innovation, ethical considerations, and national security while responding to public health emergencies and biosecurity incidents.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The foundations of biotechnology regulation
• The medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology framework
• Agricultural biotechnology governance
• Biosecurity and biodiversity protection
• Biosecurity and public health systems
• Data governance
• Intellectual Property regimes
• Economic security dimensions

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Digital markets are affecting many aspects of our lives, transforming products, services, terms of trade, and even employment markets. The rising importance of big data, algorithmic decision-making, and online platforms create complex regulatory challenges for ensuring that the digital markets increase welfare. Competition law has an important role to play in this digital eco-system. Accordingly, this subject explores the complex challenges that digital markets pose to competition law. To do so, this subject will first analyse the unique characteristics of the digital environment and how they affect market dynamics. It will then analyse the main challenges to competition law, including coordination through algorithmic interactions, market power based on big data, abusive conduct by platforms and intermediaries, and defining markets and market power in digital eco-systems. It will also explore the intersection between competition, consumer protection and privacy, which is raising important institutional questions for the allocation and coordination of regulatory responses. This subject will explore global developments in this complex and fast-moving field. Drawing on the latest literature and major cases and inquiries, it will equip students to critically engage with and meet the challenges posed for business and its advisors and for policymakers, regulators and law enforcers in digital markets.

This subject is led by two of the world’s competition law experts, with particular expertise in the regulation of digital markets.

indicative list of principal topics:

• Analysing the special characteristics of digital markets and the unique market dynamics they create, including:
• Defining Big Data
• Analysing the dynamics of Big Data markets, including entry barriers and network effects
• Exploring advancements in algorithmic decision-making, including machine learning and deep learning
• Debating the competitive significance of algorithmic decision-making based on Big Data
• Exploring the role of digital intermediaries, including platforms, in the digital eco-system
• Analysing the unique challenges that digital markets pose to competition law enforcement, including:
• Increased coordination through algorithmic interactions
• Market power based on big data
• Abusive conduct by platforms and intermediaries
• Defining markets and market power in digital eco-systems
• Big Data and merger review
• Challenges created by the bundling of different products and services in the digital eco-system
• Analysing the intersection between competition, consumer protection and privacy

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International trade is being transformed by the globalisation of the internet and the ability to move data across borders. Small businesses and firms in developing countries are using internet platforms such as eBay and Alibaba to engage in international trade. Software, music and books that used to be traded physically are now being transmitted digitally across borders; lawyers, consultants and other professional services are using the internet to reach new markets. Data analytics and cloud computing have become essential tools for firms in domestic and international markets.

This subject will examine the impact of the internet and global data flows on international trade. Students will learn about the varied and innovative ways that the internet and data enable international economic activity. Students will look at how government regulation in areas such as privacy and national security affects digital trade and will examine the balance between achieving these goals and maximising opportunities for trade, growth and jobs. Students will learn about the extent to which international trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement support an open internet and global data flows; will identify gaps in law and practice; and will analyse where new global norms and rules are needed. Special topics covered may include: the opportunities of digital trade for developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); challenges posed by the 'Internet of Things' and privacy regulation; and digital trade and national security.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of the globalisation of the internet including global trends in internet access and use
• The economics of the internet - students will learn how internet access and global data flows are improving productivity, enabling innovation and expanding opportunities for global engagement
• What is the impact of the internet and data flows on international trade? This will include the role of digital platforms and the increasing importance of digital services trade
• What are the barriers to digital trade, who is erecting them and why? Students will learn about the regulatory challenges to digital trade in areas of consumer protection, financial and privacy laws and the different approaches being taken in the European Union, the United States and Australia, and consider how to achieve domestic regulatory goals while maximising digital trade
• Applying international trade law to digital trade issues and identifying the legal gaps - students will analyse where existing international trade rules apply to digital trade issues. This will include analysis of WTO agreements and cases as well as new trade rules in free trade agreements. Gaps in trade law will be identified and students will consider whether new trade rules and norms are needed and where they can be negotiated.

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This subject examines legal aspects of entertainment, an industry that has become largely internationalised. Technology now allows even local performers and distributors to reach audiences around the world, raising important issues and questions about which law applies in which jurisdictions. While some of these legal issues can be addressed in advance through agreements, doing so requires lawyers to have a firm grasp of the legal options available across multiple legal systems.

Consider the performer Rosé, born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. She is a member of the globally active K-Pop group Blackpink based in South Korea. As a group member and a solo artist, she operates across a range of legal environments and activities. Her legal team, and the lawyers for those with whom she works, must navigate complex international choice-of-law questions.

This subject pays particular attention to the United States, given its significant influence on global entertainment practices, while also examining questions of law in Australia and other jurisdictions. Case studies and examples are drawn from the fields of music, book publishing, visual and performing arts, and the various digital and physical media through which artistic content is distributed.

A central theme will be the relationship between artistry and industry – how creative expression is supported, shaped, and constrained by commercial imperatives. Entertainment lawyers typically represent either the artists or the business interests behind their work. The two sides’ short-term goals may differ, but they share the ultimate goal of bringing creative works to audiences while generating enough revenue to sustain the process.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Distinction between the artistic entity (example: a band) and the legal entity (example: a partnership)
• Stakeholders inside and outside the industry, including fans
• Intellectual property and misappropriations: copyright and neighboring rights, moral rights, trademark rights, publicity rights, passing off, trade secret protection, and unfair competition
• Contracting in the entertainment industry such as licensing, joint ventures, publishing, concert touring, and character merchandising
• Technological developments, especially those involving digitalization and online platforms
• Jurisdictional questions and choice-of-law issues
• Privacy and publicity: what’s the difference? Do all countries treat them the same?

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Information technology is critical to almost all modern organisations and processes. The development, acquisition and use of such technology raises a myriad of complex legal issues extending beyond conventional contractual issues and includes ownership rights, rights of use and risk management. This subject explores those issues with a particular emphasis on contracting and intellectual property issues associated with the development and sourcing of information technology products and services. Both lecturers are information technology lawyers who have had extensive practical experience acting for both providers and purchasers of such products and services.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of information technology and the Australian information technology development industry
• Alternate dispute resolution of information technology disputes
• Roles and relationships of the various parties to information technology agreements
• Copyright protection afforded to technology products and services, including online products and services
• Open source licensing arrangements
• Patent protection afforded to information technology products and services
• Employees and contractor rights and obligations in the context of the creation and development of information technology
• Software creation, development and exploitation
• Cloud services: risks and liability
• Database and content management issues
• Privacy issues associated with the development and use of information technology goods and services
• Risk allocation and management of information technology contracts (including insurance and escrow arrangements).

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This subject critically explores the intersection of international law and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We conceptualise AI as an ‘Algorithmic Leviathan’ – a powerful force reshaping global power, economies, and societies. Rather than a regulatory void, the course examines how existing international legal frameworks (in trade, human rights, humanitarian law, etc.) grapple with AI’s multifaceted impacts – from its resource-intensive creation and data extraction to its deployment in autonomous systems and decision-making. You will critically analyse attempts to govern AI, considering the interplay between states, corporations, and the risks of ‘regulatory capture’. The subject also explores AI’s potential to serve international law’s goals, such as enhancing access to justice, while remaining vigilant about biases and ethical challenges. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on AI tool exercises (no coding background needed), you will develop a sophisticated understanding of how international law is responding to, and being reshaped by, AI’s advance.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction: AI as a Force to be Governed? (Concepts, History, Critical Framing)
• International Law’s Encounter with AI: (Sources, Subjects, Responsibility, Jurisdiction)
• AI's Material Costs: (Resource Extraction, Environment, Labour, Trade Law - for example, China - Rare Earths)
• AI's Data Demands: The Data Mine (Information Extraction, Privacy, Data Flows, Human Rights Law)
• Governing AI: Regulation, Competition, and Capture (Global Governance Models, EU AI Act, Treaty Efforts)
• AI on the Battlefield: Autonomous Weapons, Targeting, and International Humanitarian Law
• Rules as Data: AI, Treaty Interpretation, and Legal Knowledge Management
• AI and Information Warfare: State Responsibility and Human Rights Implications
• Algorithmic Justice? AI in International Adjudication, Decision-Making, and Bias Mitigation
• AI Futures: Collective Rights, Deliberative Democracy, and the Evolving Role of the International Lawyer

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Generative AI has rapidly emerged across society, with much speculation about the opportunities and threats it poses.

As a technology that fundamentally accepts natural language instruction, has an ability to reason on that language, and provides natural language output, there are parallels with the work performed by legal practitioners— who receive client instructions, apply legal expertise with the intent to achieve some outcome, and ordinarily provide a written output in the form of a contract, an advice or a submission.

Advancements in tools that abstract away a lot of the underlying complexity mean that you no longer need to be a "software developer" to develop powerful, practical programs. Increasingly the focus is on having the domain expertise and imagination, rather than the technical skill.

To best make use of the current capabilities of this technology, and to form a view on where it might lead, there is no substitute for lifting the hood and using the core components to build practical outputs. This provides a depth of understanding that cannot be obtained by theoretical study alone.

Society will require legal practitioners who are able to understand, build, and critique the machinations of programs that use artificial intelligence (in particular, Generative AI). Accordingly, this timely and hands-on subject provides a much-needed set of tools for those engaged with law and technology: it steps through how to build Generative AI based programs for legal solutions, giving students an opportunity to put that learning into practice and become leaders in AI within their chosen career area.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of Large Language Models
• Programmatic Access to Large Language Models
• Information Architecture
• Developing Applications
• Measuring and Improving Performance

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The internet has given rise to new modes of communication. Services such as Netflix, Facebook and Google pose significant challenges for traditional models of communications regulation. At present, traditional media are arguably among the most heavily regulated sectors of the Australian economy, yet new media services go largely unregulated. This subject examines the conflict between traditional regulation of old and new media. Australia’s current regulatory arrangements arose in the 1990s and reflect the structure of the electronic communications industries at that time – focusing on the separate and highly prescriptive regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications. The current regulatory framework is fragmented and complex, and covers not only technical issues but also sector-specific competition, content and ownership rules. Since the 1990s, however, the communications environment in Australia has undergone a period of rapid and profound change. The emergence and ubiquitous adoption of the internet as a mass communications system has provided new opportunities for Australian publishers and audiences by dismantling traditional technological, economic and regulatory barriers to entry. From national security to sport, this revolution in communications has profound policy issues for national regulation in a global communications environment.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is communications law? (including different regulatory approaches)
• Regulation of communications services, including radio, television and internet services
• Australian content rules
• Control and ownership of broadcasting and communications enterprises
• Pay TV and the anti-siphoning regime
• Competition in telecommunications (including regulation of anti-competitive practices, NBNCo and the structural separation of Telstra)
• Interconnection law and policy
• Spectrum allocation (including licensing and spectrum auctions)
• Consumer protection issues
• Regulation of internet content
• Regulation of new services and technologies, including convergence of media and Australian content requirements.

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The world's first feature-length film was thought to have been produced in Australia in 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang told the story of Australia's most infamous bushrangers and received distribution in Britain and New Zealand as well as in Australia. From 1906 onwards, Australian films and television programs such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Castle, Shine and The Sullivans have helped to define the particular cultural identity of Australians. This subject explores the issues associated with the production, financing and distribution of such films and television programs, with particular reference to feature films and sport and drama television programming (including online programs of a similar episodic structure and duration expected by television audiences, but which are distributed by online streaming). The distribution of films and television programs has been radically re-shaped since the early 1990s with the development of the Internet and the advent of online streaming. Online streaming has raised both opportunities and challenges for producers of films and television programs and has increased the complexities of the commercial and legal issues which must be addressed in the context of the production, financing and distribution of audio-visual material.

The lecturers in the subject have worked as in-house counsel at an Australian television network, and in private practice acting for independent producers,adding to the practical relevance of the subject.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to the changing landscape of the film and television industries in Australia and internationally
• Copyright clearance issues
• Moral rights
• Breach of confidence and privacy
• Sport on television
• Film financing, production and distribution
• Australian content regulation and the production of drama programming
• Production and broadcast of advertising on television
• Use of musical works and sound recordings in film and television programming
• Distribution and merchandising of film and television programming
• Employment and contractual arrangements for film and television personalities
• Copyright and other rights in television formats.

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This subject is an introduction to the foundational principles and rules of the public international legal order. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of the key concepts of international law, its history and contemporary relevance, sources of international law and the role of some key international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN). The subject is grounded in both theory and practice in order to consider how international law works in shaping and dealing with a range of global issues, including the creation, recognition and sovereignty of states, self-determination of peoples and the use of force in international relations.

Using contemporary examples and case studies which address recent and current developments, students will critically evaluate the position and relevance of international law in international politics and society.

The teaching integrates both content and skills in advanced legal research and writing. We will purposefully introduce students to the practices and protocols of advanced study in international law, as well as to the specialised knowledge and skills required of studying at postgraduate level in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature, purpose and language of international law;
• Sources of international law;
• International legal personality, statehood and sovereignty;
• Jurisdiction of states and jurisdictional immunities;
• The responsibility of states for violations of international law;
• Peaceful settlement of disputes and the functions of the International Court of Justice; and
• Regulation of the use of force in international relations (jus ad bellum).

Important information about this Subject

This subject is a pre-requisite for many other international law subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend full-time students enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For part-time students, International Law (LAWS70173) is the alternative five-day intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following internationally focussed courses are strongly recommended to take either LAWS90295 Principles of International Law or LAWS70173 International Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in public international law):

• Master of Environmental Law
• Master of Human Rights Law;
• Master of Law and Development;
• Master of Public and International Law;
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in International Law.

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

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Privacy has been valued for centuries but now there is a resurgent interest in its protection as a result of new technologies, changing social norms and a rise of markets focused on the commodity value of information. Overlapping with the resurgent interest in privacy is a related concern about the management of data flows, especially on the part of government agencies and business organisations. The legal frameworks that deal with privacy and data protection have a long history but are coming under pressure to adapt to a more complex modern environment.

In this subject, you will pay particular attention to the scope and nature of privacy protection as well as appropriate limits and exceptions, the ongoing pressures for law reform, and the practical operation of privacy and data protection laws in Australia and comparable jurisdictions.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is privacy?
• Conceptual and legal definitional issues
• International and comparative privacy and data protection regimes
• Protection of privacy in general law in Australia and comparable jurisdictions
• The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth): regulation of personal information held by the private and public sectors
• State/territory (especially Victorian) legislative regimes for the regulation of personal information
• Current topics in privacy law such as privacy and the media, privacy and health information, online privacy, telecommunications and surveillance privacy
• Current reform inquiries and proposals and likely reforms.

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Online platforms are under increasing amounts of scrutiny, with states increasingly seeking to regulate the digital sphere. Online harms are a key target of these legislative interventions and pose unique challenges in the regulation of online content. Campaigns of disinformation and manipulation have plagued democratic elections, instances of ‘fake news’ have caused harm to public health, charities and governments alike have struggled to deal with the increase in online violence and abuse, and technologies pose new methods for bullying and harassment.

However, regulating harmful content online is not a straightforward task. The global nature of the internet, the relative dominance of platforms, the volumes of content posted, and the complex and disparate nature of the different types of harm has made it difficult to develop effective regulatory frameworks. Regulatory approaches must be balanced against fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of expression and other policy interests, such as promoting competition and protecting data privacy.

This subject will enable you to develop a critical understanding of the framework of laws regulating online harms, considering legal, policy, social, and ethical interventions. The subject will look at several overseas jurisdictions to assess wider patterns in online harms regulation and consider future developments, both in Australia and around the globe.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The development of online harms regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions including Australia, the UK, EU, USA, and Singapore.

• The responsibilities of private actors in the regulation of online harm.

• Key techniques which are mobilised to address harmful and illegal content, including content moderation and the use of algorithmic recommender systems.

• Challenges to the regulation of online harms presented by technologies such as encryption and age verification.

• How the law distinguishes between illegal and harmful content.

• How breaches of online harms regulation are enforced and what sanctions may result.

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