GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Essay Questions

1. “The law does not, therefore, judge works: it weighs neither their merit, nor their importance; it protects them all, blindly; short or long, good or bad, useful or dangerous, fruit of genius or of the mind, simple product of labour or patience, every literary or artistic work is admitted and may benefit from the provisions of the law.” (Pouillet, 1894)

How far would you agree that such a stance: (a) reflects how copyright law actually functions; and (b) constitutes sound policy with respect to copyright law?

In your answer you should critically discuss statutory and case law of at least one jurisdiction such as the United States.

• “The functions of geographical indications can be adequately performed by trademarks. Therefore geographical indications as a separate intellectual property right are not necessary.”

This opinion is quite common in the United States but less so in Europe. How far do you agree with this statement? In your discussion, you should make references to named national and international laws.

Each answer MUST have a maximum word count of 1,500 words excluding footnotes. So your TOTAL limit is 3,000 words. It is not compulsory to keep to the limit but you should make your best effort to do so

Marking scheme

The highest standard requires (i) independent critical thinking, (ii) a proper engagement with the question, (iii) good research on the subject with adequate citations, and (iv) a logical narrative with good structure. Although not an exact quantitative requirement the length would normally be at least 85% of the maximum (i.e. 2,500-2,600 words). The reason is that in writing a shorter essay one would be failing to take full advantage of the possibility to add further depth and detail.

A good standard has to meet similar requirements but with reduced evidence of independent critical thinking and somewhat lower overall quality standards. You will still need to show that you are knowledgeable about the subject matter relevant to the essay.

A Pass requires an acceptable engagement with the question, and an adequate word count. If text is merely descriptive it may still pass as long as it deals with the question.

Fail essays tend to be due to not spending enough time on the task as evidenced by producing insufficient or irrelevant text, and signs of having made little or no effort to read the relevant literature on the subject.

Some useful tips on essay writing

1. At taught postgraduate level, successful essays are well and clearly written and structured, appropriately referenced, and display evidence of extensive reading (as far as time allows). We want to read your informed views on the topic of the essays so independent critical thinking is something that we really appreciate. Be selective about what you read. You cannot read everything on the subject so choose the best according to your own judgement. Please do not cite literature just because it is easy to find on the Internet.
2. This may seem like an obvious point but it is essential to answer the question and keep what you write relevant to it. Ask yourself: what is the intent behind the essay question?
3. A well written essay requires a great deal of care. With relatively short essays, you need to be very economical in your writing, so you have to be a demanding editor of your own work. In some ways writing a short essay is harder than a long one! You need to get to the point, avoiding long introductions. Every word matters. Pay attention to narrative flow. Is it easy for the reader to follow?
4. Make sure you leave enough time before submission to thoroughly scrutinize your writing, checking for errors, unclear expression, and excessive wordiness. This can be a repetitive process but the effort is worth it. The likelihood is that during the writing process you will probably produce more than 3,000 words but this will be reduced in the editing. (It would almost certainly be a mistake to assume that every word you produce in the course of the writing will be included in the final version that you submit.)
5. In terms of style, presentation and citation practice, it is a good idea to look at a US law journal to get a better idea of how to make your work look professional.
6. Manage your time well. Do not spend too long on one question leaving insufficient time for the second one.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Laws play an important role in any jurisdiction as it governs the way of conduct of its citizenry and the general guidance to what is acceptable in society (Anawalt, 2002). Laws are also meant to promote order and guarantee respect to human equality, fairness and justice. Without the law, conflicts between social groups and the communities are bound to happen (Senftleben, 2013). This task critically evaluates the use of copyright and the intellectual property laws as applied in the US.
Whether the Stance Reflects how the Copyright Law Functions
The US copyright law is meant to protect the original works of authorship often reflected in literary work such as music, art and other intellectual works. It is governed by the Federal state under the Copyright Act of 1976 (Keyes, 2008). The law stipulates that the protection has to be implemented both for the published and unpublished works (Salami, 2020). According to Balganesh & Parchomovsky (2014), the three basic…