Introductory description

This module introduces students to current debates on innovation and industrial policy and invites them to consider how law, in particular intellectual property law, can be designed and applied to meet the policy goals. It offers case studies of the world’s major innovation systems, including the United States, China, the European Union, and India, and looks at ongoing developments in innovation system building in the African Union. By the end of the module, students will learn about a variety of institutional approaches to innovation and will be able to assess the regulatory policy space available to countries under international treaties, in particular the TRIPS Agreement, to regulate their innovation systems.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

An indicative module outline:

1. Introduction: Innovation and Industrial Policy, State and Market-Led Innovation, Exclusivity and Open Innovation
2. The Role of Law in the Innovation System, Globalisation and the Regulatory Discretion
3. Intellectual Property Rules for Technological Innovation (Patentability, Disclosure, Scope of Protection, Exhaustion, Research Exception, etc.)
4. The Case Study in the United States
5. The Case Study in China
6. The Case Study in the European Union
7. The Case Study in India
8. The Development of the African Union’s Innovation System
9. Lessons from Comparative Perspective and the Way Forward

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the role of intellectual property law in innovation and industrial policy
• Demonstrate knowledge of key intellectual property rules that matter for technological innovation
• Analyse the regulatory discretion available to countries under international treaties, specifically the TRIPS Agreement
• Provide an informed comparative analysis of regulatory approaches to innovation in different countries

Indicative reading list

1. William Van Caenegem, Intellectual Property Law and Innovation (Cambridge, UK; New York, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
2. Susana Borrás and Charles Edquist, Holistic Innovation Policy: Theoretical Foundations, Policy Problems, and Instrument Choices (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019).
3. Bengt-Åke Lundvall, National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning (London: Pinter Publishers, 1992).
4. Peter Drahos, The Global Governance of Knowledge: Patent Offices and Their Clients (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
5. Reto M. Hilty et al., ‘Declaration on Patent Protection: Regulatory Sovereignty under TRIPS’ (Munich: Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, April 2014).

Research element

Independent research for assessment

Subject specific skills

• Conduct research and analysis of primary and secondary sources on international and national intellectual property regulation relevant to industrial and innovation policy; compare regulatory approaches to innovation in different countries and discuss their fit to the local context

Transferable skills

• Critical thinking,
• Academic speaking and writing
• Literature review
• Analysis