Law – LLM (Intellectual Property and Electronic Law)
Key Points
In the LLM (Intellectual Property and e-Law) you will study the close connection between the fields of intellectual property (copyrights, patents and trademarks) and electronic law (Internet regulation, electronic commerce and cybercrime). You will discuss novel and dynamic topics related to social media, music and video copyrights, regulation of electronic contracts and data protection.
Applicants for the LLM (Intellectual Property and E-Law) degree also have the option to register for a Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property and E-Law. Students earn 60 credits from the taught Master's modules offered for the LLM (Intellectual Property and Electronic Law). The Graduate Diploma can be completed for 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time.
This shorter program may be attractive to legal professionals and others who prefer not to initially commit to a full master's program. Graduates of the Graduate Diploma can further advance their studies by completing a 15,000-word research thesis and graduating with a Master of Laws (LLM).
Program structure
In the LLM (Intellectual Property and e-Law) you will study the close connection between the fields of intellectual property (copyrights, patents and trademarks) and electronic law (Internet regulation, electronic commerce and cybercrime). You will discuss novel and dynamic topics related to social media, music and video copyrights, regulation of electronic contracts and data protection.
Applicants for the LLM (Intellectual Property and E-Law) degree also have the option to register for a Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property and E-Law. Students earn 60 credits from the taught Master's modules offered for the LLM (Intellectual Property and Electronic Law). The Graduate Diploma can be completed for 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time.
This shorter program may be attractive to legal professionals and others who prefer not to initially commit to a full master's program. Graduates of the Graduate Diploma can further advance their studies by completing a 15,000-word research thesis and graduating with a Master of Laws (LLM).
Course practices
LLM classes have a seminar format. This participatory and interactive teaching format is suitable for the graduate level. Students receive advanced reading lists and / or materials for each seminar.
Seminars are held in 2-hour blocks between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. 10 credit modules run for 12 weeks and 5 credit modules run for 6 weeks.
Credits
Students complete 90 credits over 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time. Students take 60 credits of taught modules and a dissertation on a topic of their choice in the area of PI and / or E-Law as approved by their supervisor. The dissertation is worth 30 credits and is normally 15,000 words long.
Why choose this course
The LLM in Intellectual Property and E-Law reflects the close connection in research and legal practice between the fields of Intellectual Property (copyrights, patents and trademarks) and E-Law (Internet regulation, electronic commerce and law cybercrime).
This specialized LLM draws on the School of Law's considerable research and teaching experience in the fields of intellectual property and electronic law. Students can choose from a variety of intellectual property, business, information law, and electronic law modules and further specialize by writing a dissertation on any of the modern challenges that the practice of intellectual property law presents in the electronic age.
The LLM includes an exclusive IT Law Clinic module, where students provide legal information to startups on topics such as copyright, data protection, and online selling. The clinic is the first clinic of its kind at any Irish university and gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge of these dynamic legal areas to the real-life problems faced by businesses.
The UCC School of Law is the Irish partner of the global Creative Commons movement and a member of the European Network of Law Incubators iLINC, which aims to facilitate the provision of legal information and advice to ICT entrepreneurs and start-ups. We host major conferences on intellectual property and e-law, for example, "Regulation of Cloud Computing: Clear Skies?" in 2012.
Career opportunities
Graduates of the LLM in Intellectual Property and e-Law have excellent legal research and writing skills. They may pursue careers as lawyers, attorneys, or in-house attorneys, as well as other roles in technology companies or in the public sector.
Admission requirements
To be accepted in this course you must be approved by the Law School and normally you must:
- Have a law degree with Honors Second Class Grade I (NFQ, Level 8)
- Have other relevant third-level educational qualifications and / or professional experience that, in the opinion of the Law School, qualify you under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to pursue the LLM degree (Intellectual Property and e-Law ).
- If you are a candidate abroad, you can apply and your qualifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, as stated above.
English requirements
All graduate applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of English language proficiency. Certain tests (eg, IELTS, TOEFL, and Pearson PTE) have a three-year time limit on their validity and will apply. English language tests must be taken no more than three years prior to the start of a program.
Please note that Secure English Language Test (SELT) scores must be obtained in a single session of the corresponding qualification (for example, IELTS and TOEFL). We will not accept a combination of individual component scores from multiple tests.
Applicants who are nationals of a country that, according to the UCC, is predominantly English-speaking, or who have a degree or equivalent qualification that was taught in a country that is considered predominantly English-speaking, will normally be assumed to have met the language requirements of the UCC. However, in some circumstances, applicants may be required to present evidence of an English language qualification to satisfy the college program entry requirements.
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