LAW4341 Copyright and designs
Faculty of Law
LAW4341 Copyright and designs is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Law, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before LAW4341
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After LAW4341
No unit lists LAW4341 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must have completed at least 60 credit points of law study.
Overview
Copyright and designs focuses on two important forms of intellectual property ('IP'). Learn why we have copyright law, its international framework, what it covers, whether it exists in any given scenario, whether it has been infringed and the possible consequences of such infringement. Then examine Australia's designs law, which protects the visual appearance of manufactured goods, with a focus on the overlap between copyright and designs protection. Throughout, there will be an emphasis on current legal issues and the relationships between copyright and design rights and other relevant forms IP law.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- AssignmentWritten40%
- Written assessmentWritten60%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Explain and comment critically on policies and objectives underlying the regimes of intellectual property protection studied and relate them to proposals for law reform;
- 2
Provide high level advice to authors, designers and other creators, as well as users of material created by such persons, as to their rights and liabilities under Australian copyright and designs laws;
- 3
Explain the basic features of the international rules governing the protection of copyright and designs.
- 4
Analyse and explain the impact of technological change on the formulation and protection of the rights studied; and
- 5
Demonstrate high level skills of case analysis and statutory interpretation.
Workload and teaching
- Seminars36 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Learning resources
Required resources
See the Moodle unit page for prescribed and recommended resources. Prescribed texts are usually available for purchase through the University Bookstore and are sometimes available for short-term loan or as eBooks through the library.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Tyrone Berger
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for LAW4341?
LAW4341 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is LAW4341 offered?
In 2026, LAW4341 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is LAW4341?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does LAW4341 have an exam?
No. LAW4341 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.