Intellectual Property Law

Overview

The Master in Intellectual Property Law at University of Johannesburg is, accordingly, that body of law that regulates the creation and utilisation of immaterial property, and the enforcement of resultant rights. The field of intellectual property (IP) law reaches wide, and is dynamic. The nature of IP is best understood through a comparison with other, tangible, forms of property. With property such as land, a vehicle or a soccer ball, one has rights to the object itself. 

In other words, your rights would be infringed if the object is damaged or destroyed. The position with IP is different. An example might be a patent for a pair of night vision binoculars. The intellectual property rights of the patented would not be infringed if the binoculars are destroyed. The reason for this is that it is the invention that is protected and not the binoculars. 

The objects of the various IP rights typically include:

• patents

• copyright

• registered designs

• trade marks

Career opportunities 

An IP LLM could lead to a career as an advocate, attorney, a legal adviser in government or in the private sector, a position in a regulatory environment or a position in an international agency.