Almost any product or service in the marketplace is the result of a long chain of innovations and intellectual property (IP) plays a crucial role. In fact, the interconnection of business and IP has never been stronger evolving into a symbiotic relationship where the value of one is tied to the other and vice versa. Today's successful lawyers dealing with IP and related trade issues know this and are in tune with their clients' business strategies. Even the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) now places particular emphasis on IP commercialization and business. To be able to critically identify, evaluate, and analyse intellectual property issues in business, and eventually apply legal principles in IP related problem-solving, is crucial for business success and as noted earlier, success as an IP practitioner.   

This course aims at providing a discovery-enriched curriculum for students to discover and explore the principles and framework of IP in the contemporary business environment, from the incubation and development of innovation, to validation, strategy and commercialization and also covers some of the most important developments affecting the business of IP including the growing intersection of IP and fintech and IP tokenization, IP trading and exchanges and the associated challenges, artificial intelligence and cross border data flows. Subjects cover the development, commercialization, management, realization, and protection of various IP rights. Successful completion of the course will enhance students' capabilities in critical thinking and analysis in relation to business IP and build up students' practical skills in problem-solving IP issues in a business context.

Applicable to students admitted before Semester A 2022/23 and in Semester A 2024/25 & thereafter

Students must obtain an overall mark of 40% in both continuous assessment and examination and an overall mark of 40% in order to pass the course. 

Applicable to students admitted from Semester A 2022/23 to Summer Term 2024

Students must obtain an overall mark of 50% in both continuous assessment and examination and a overall mark of 50% in order to pass the course.