Universidad Pública de Navarra - Nafarroako Univertsitate Publikoa
Public University of Navarre
| Course code: 351703 | Subject title: INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND ANTITRUST LAW | ||||
| Credits: 6 | Type of subject: Optative | Year: 4 | Period: 1º S | ||
| Department: Private Law | |||||
| Lecturers: | |||||
| PABLO-ROMERO GIL-DELGADO, M. CONCEPCION (Resp) [Mentoring ] | |||||
Module/Subject matter
Private and Business Law/ Business Law and Management: industrial property and competition.
Contents
- Effective Competition as the cornerstone of the market
- The protection of competition in the EU and Spanish Competition Law
- Anticompetitive acts
- Merger Control
- Public Aids
- Basic ideas of industrial property rights and its links with free competition
- Unfair practices in Competition: Spanish legislation
Descriptors
Free competition is the cornerstone of the market economic system. The process of competition is seen as being of value and meriting protection when used in a reproachable way. Competition law exists to protect competition and implement competition policy in respect of firms operating in the marketplace. There are two different aspects in completion law. Competition law, needed to protect competition from restrictions and Unfair competition Law, which prevents firms from using unfair practices once free competition exists.
The course aims to introduce students with a sufficient knowledge of the competition system in Europe and Spain. Areas of study are: antitrust, mergers, state aid both in the EU and Spain; unfair competition law is Spain. We will also deal with industrial property rights as there are important links between them and competition law.
General proficiencies
1.- The general proficiencies to be acquired by the student are:
- Oral and written abilities in communication
- Critical thinking ability
- Independent learning ability
Specific proficiencies
The specific proficiencies to be acquired by the student are:
a) Cognitive
- Acquisition of knowledge in the following areas:
- Antitrust legal system in EU and Spain
- Antitrust and industrial property rights
- Unfair competition legal system
b) Instrumental abilities:
- Ability to understand and contextualize the legal competition system
- Ability to apply legal rules in competition
- Ability to use specific legal language in competition
- Ability to evaluate different solutions to different competition problems
c) Attitudinal:
- Assume the role of legal institutions as vehicles to achieve solutions both fair and efficient solutions
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to:
- Describe the organization and operational system of industrial property rights.
- Describe the organization and operational system of competition (antitrust, mergers, state aid) and unfair competition as well as the anticompetitive and unfair behaviours.
- Explain, resume and give examples of patents, trademarks and other industrial property rights.
- Perceive and distinguish the rights of each of the owners of industrial property rights and the remedies for their violation.
- Explain the different types of anticompetitive behaviours and unfair behaviours, sanctions and victims’ rights.
- Understand and resolve practical problems to show the necessary abilities in the use of EC and Spanish legislation.
Methodology
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Methodology |
Number of hours for lectures |
Number of hours for personal work |
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A-1 Lecture |
45 |
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A-2 Practical activity in the classroom |
15 |
15 |
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A-3 Discussion and debate, seminars, tutorial in groups |
|
10 |
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A-4 Preparation of paper and presentations |
|
10 |
|
A-5 Reading legal material |
|
10 |
|
A-6 Personal study |
|
49 |
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A-7 Exams, evalulation tests |
2 |
|
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A-8 Personal tutorials |
4 |
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Evaluation
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Methodology |
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Lectures: X |
Debate and presentations: X |
Specific tutorials: |
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Practical activities: X |
Visits and excursions: |
Compulsory Reading control: |
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Others: |
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Lectures are the way to give the students the main ideas of the subject. We will pay especial attention to those ideas with a higher level of technical difficulties and to those others of of particular interest to the formation of an expert in competition law. Practical activities can be either reading of legal materials or the analysis of real cases so that the students learn to apply legal rules to real situations. Students will also have to make presentations that will be discussed in the group to help them to develop their critical thinking abilities. |
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Evaluation |
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Exam X-60% |
Continuous evaluation X-40%
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Personal work:
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Practical work: X |
Others. Participation an attendance to programmed activities |
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The final evaluation will take into consideration both the attitude and the work of the student: attendance to lectures and active participation in group activities and the correct resolution of cases. There will also be a mid-season exam and a theoretical and practical final exam. The evaluation of all those students who do not take part in the ordinary process will be only through the final exam. |
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Agenda
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1 PRELIMINARY IDEAS
2 EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW 2.1. Sources of Law 2.2 The TFEU Provisions on Competition: art. 101 to 109; the enforcement of EU competition law; EU level, national level 2.3 Anticompetitive Agreements, Decisions and Concerted Practices: Art. 101 2.4 Abuses of Dominant Position: Art. 102 2.5 The Enforcement of Art. 101 And 102: Regulation 1/2003 2.6 Claims for Damages 2.7 Public Aids: Art. 107-109 2.8 Merger Control
3 SPANISH COMPETITION LAW 3.1 Anticompetitive Practices 3.2 Merger Control 3.3 The Enforcement of Spanish Competition Law
4 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND COMPETITION LAW 4.1. Types of Intellectual Property Rights 4.2. The Relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Law 4.3 The exhaustion principle 4.4. Limits on the Exercise of Industrial Property Rights under the EU Treaties 4.5. The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation 4.6. Assessment of Licensing Agreements on Intellectual Property rights
5 UNFAIR PRACTICES IN COMPETITION 5.1 National Regulation 5.2 Spanish Law 5.3 General Clause 5.4 Different Types of Unfair Practices 5.5 Unfair Practices and Consumers 5.6 Actions against Unfair Practices |
Bibliography
Access the bibliography that your professor has requested from the Library.
There is no text book especially useful for the subject.
Prof. Pablo-Romero will give the students her “Notes on competition law”. Industrial Property can be understood from the Wipo texts you can find in MiAulario (Recursos).
It is absolutely necessary the use of European and Spanish legislation: Spanish legislation on competition: Ley de Defensa de la Competencia, Reglamento de Defensa de la Competencia; Spanish legislation on Industrial Property: Ley de marcas, Ley de patentes, Ley de diseño industrial.
UE Treaties and regulations in competition: can be found in http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html; Spanish unfair competition law: Ley de Competencia Desleal
Spanish legislation translated to english can be found in: http://www.mjusticia.gob.es/cs/Satellite/es/1288774502225/TextoPublicaciones.html
Webpages:
Oficina española de patentes y marcas: www.oepm.es
Oficina de armonización del mercado interior: www.oami.org
Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia: http://cnmc.es
Comisión Europea (competencia): http://ec.europa.eu/competition
World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/
European Commission (competition) http://ec.europa.eu/competition