Prerequisites: None

Exam Type: Last Class Take-Home

International IP transactions are extremely common in the global knowledge-based and data-driven economy. The legal rules that govern these transactions are however not uniform at the international level (and not even at the regional level – including in the European Union -). The power of the contracting parties (who negotiate and conclude international IP transactions) to select the (contract) law that shall govern their agreement cannot fully overcome this legal fragmentation. In view of this complexity, the goal of the course is to explore and discuss selected aspects of international IP transactions from an international and a comparative perspective in order to help students navigate this challenging legal environment.

The course will cover a variety of IP transactions, including assignment of IP rights (specifically copyright assignment agreements), technology licensing (specifically patent and know-how licensing, including FRAND [Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory] patent licensing) and technology transfer, trademark and copyright licensing, trademark coexistence agreements; non-disclosure agreements, franchising agreements, etc. The course will investigate a variety of legal fields beyond contract law and intellectual property law, including competition law, conflict of laws, international commercial and investment arbitration, and bankruptcy law in an interdisciplinary approach. It will analyze a selection of documents that shall help understand the legal ecosystem governing international IP transactions (including documents from the World Intellectual Property Organization and from other international organizations as well as case law from diverse common law and civil law jurisdictions).