Intellectual Property Law – Coursework Assessment Task 2021-22
This document contains your coursework assessment task for the Intellectual Property Law Module. This assessed task will count for 80% of the mark for the Intellectual Property Law Module.
Guidance on the Assessment Task was provided on the VLE. Please read this document carefully as there is some additional information, including the Date and Time of the Submission Deadline, and restrictions on the Format that may be used (a single MS WORD Document only).
If you think that there is any conflict between the information on the VLE and in this Assessment Document, the Assessment Document is the one you should follow.
The VLE will allow you to submit multiple copies of your work. However, the University has strict guidelines about what will be marked.
- If you submit multiple copies of your work and all are submitted BEFORE the assessment deadline we will mark the LAST (most recent) document that you submitted.
- If you submit multiple copies of your work and all are submitted AFTER the assessment deadline we will mark the FIRST (oldest) document that you submitted. You will also be penalised for late submission (see below).
- If you submit multiple copies of your work and some are submitted before the assessment deadline and some after the deadline we will mark the LAST document submitted BEFORE the deadline.
You should always check that you are submitting the correct document for your assessment – it is your responsibility to do this and if you submit an incorrect document you may end up with a mark of zero, as submitting an incorrect document is not grounds for an exceptional circumstances claim.
The time returned on the VLE upload final receipt (that is, the receipt issued by the VLE when a submission has been successfully completed) will be used to determine the time of a submission, and to determine whether a submission is late, with no ‘margin of error’ at all. This is in accordance with University policy (see the YLS Written Statement on assessment, available at: https://vle.york.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-3300777-dt-content-rid-8666770_2/xid-8666770_2)
Detailed instructions on how to upload work are on the VLE, in the assessments folder located in the UG YLS LLB – Programme Site, available at: https://vle.york.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_3767238_1&course_id=_97432_1
Please note that VLE and IT support will not be available outside normal office hours, i.e. after 17:00 and before 9:00 and at weekends.
It is your responsibility to ensure that work is uploaded to the VLE on time; and that means the upload must be completed, not merely begun or in progress, before expiry of the deadline. So you are very strongly advised not to leave submission of work through the VLE until the last moment before the deadline. You should leave enough time for uploading your work to the VLE and a margin of safety in case the VLE is slow or not responding. We recommend a margin of at least 30 minutes before the deadline (see the YLS Written Statement on assessment, available at: https://vle.york.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-3300777-dt-content-rid-8666770_2/xid-8666770_2). Also please remember, the VLE is likely to be particularly busy, and so may be slow or unresponsive, close to submission deadlines.
Late Submission
As this is a summative assessment the deadline for submission is strict. All work we mark that was submitted late, without valid exceptional circumstances, will have five percent of the available marks deducted if it is submitted within one hour of the submission deadline and, if later, ten percent of the available marks deducted for each day (or part of each day) that the work is late, up to a total of five days, including weekends and bank holidays. E.g. if work is awarded a mark of 65 out of 100, and the work is over an hour but less than one day late, the final mark is 55. After five days, the work is marked at zero. Note however, the penalty cannot take the mark into a negative result.
Exceptional Circumstances
Sometimes things happen that seriously impair your performance in an assessment or prevent you from undertaking the assessment at the scheduled time. If these circumstances are exceptional, you may be able to defer an assessment or take it again. If such circumstances do occur, you must seek support and make a claim as soon as possible after the time of the occurrence. Please read the following paragraphs carefully, as the policy on exceptional circumstances has changed.
- What are exceptional circumstances?
The circumstances must be exceptional (i.e. serious and unusual) relative to the normal daily challenges that academic study presents, and unpredictable in that you could not reasonably have been expected either to avoid them, or to allow for them in planning the assessment work or preparation. For example, it is recognised that the assessment process itself can cause students to be more anxious or stressed than at other times of the academic year; this should be considered to be one of the normal challenges that academic study presents. This would not be considered as a valid exceptional circumstance unless the impact is serious.
You’ll find a list of circumstances that do (and don’t) qualify as exceptional circumstances on pages 2-4 of the Exceptional Circumstances affecting Assessment document. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, some circumstances have been added:
- Illness with symptoms of Covid-19 (or similar symptoms);
- Unexpectedly challenging circumstances in a student’s domestic situation that could not reasonably have been anticipated or prevented (e.g. member(s) of their family are ill or self-isolating and they have consequent caring responsibility);
- Circumstances are such that access to reliable internet and/or required technology (for revision, or reliable submission of assessments) is unexpectedly unavailable during the course of the assessment;
- Other severe impacts of Covid-19 (such as impact on mental health, interaction with existing disability, etc).
Please consult the University and YLS webpages.
There are now two ways to make a claim.
Claiming exceptional circumstances through self-certification
The Covid-19 pandemic can both disrupt your studies and make it harder to evidence the disruption. Therefore, we allow students who have exceptional circumstances to apply for self-certification. Self-certification claims don’t have to be accompanied by evidence, but you should only be making such a claim if you have a valid exceptional circumstance ground (listed on pages 1-4 of the Exceptional Circumstances affecting Assessment document). By applying for self-certification, you can extend the deadline for coursework by 4 days. If you need a longer extension, you will need to claim exceptional circumstances other than through self-certification and produce evidence (see below).
Please note that your application for self-certification may be shared with your PA and other members of YLS staff involved in assessment and welfare support. We reserve the right to take appropriate measures where we have grounds for believing that a student abuses the self-certification procedure.
Self-certification claims can only be made before the submission deadline for your coursework (please note that different rules apply for other types of assessments, such as short-turnaround assessments and exams).
Please use the Exceptional Circumstances Claim Form to make a self-certification claim.
Claiming exceptional circumstances other than through self-certification
Self-certification might be unavailable (if you claim after the submission deadline) or insufficient (if your circumstances warrant an extension of more than 4 days). Therefore, you can also make an exceptional circumstances claim other than through self-certification, using the Exceptional Circumstances Claim Form.
You should submit the form before the deadline for the assessment if possible, and, in principle, no later than 7 days after the deadline for the work.
You may submit this kind of exceptional circumstances claim even if you have applied for self-certification.
Unlike the self-certification claim, this claim must be accompanied by evidence. Among others, the following are acceptable forms of evidence:
- A digital confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test (as evidence for illness);
- A digital confirmation of a self-isolation requirement (where that isolation is having an unforeseen and direct impact on assessment);
- Screenshots or photographs indicating a relevant internet connection problem or dysfunctional IT equipment.
The evidence should provide direct confirmation of the circumstances, from which it is possible to infer their effect on your ability to engage with work in general, or assessment tasks in particular, made at the time of those circumstances or as soon as possible thereafter. The evidence needs to indicate (or allow us to infer) the period of disruption, including the duration of the impact. If you’re too ill, or suspect yourself to be too contagious, to attend a doctor’s surgery or other support service at the time of your assessments, you should engage with telephone or online services, or contact Student Support Services about telephone or email consultations.
While you may submit a claim before the evidence is available, please obtain and provide evidence as soon as possible. In principle, we expect evidence within two weeks of your claim.
If you found it impossible or not practicable to obtain independent third-party evidence, please explain why and provide corroborating information. You’ll find more information about evidence on pages 8-10 of the Exceptional Circumstances affecting Assessment document.
The above policy on exceptional circumstances applies during the 2021/22 academic year, but may be subject to review.
Word limit
4,000 Words
For guidance on what is, and what is not, included in the word limit, please look at the agreed YLS Guidelines.
Work must be Double-Spaced.
Assessments will be marked up to the word limit and marking will cease once the word limit is exceeded, i.e., it will be assessed as if it terminated at the point the word limit is reached. This means that a submission which exceeds the word limit is likely to be marked down on the organisation and application / argument / evaluation assessment criteria, as appropriate. In addition, any material past the set limit will not count towards any demonstration of knowledge.
Presentation of your work
Your work must be submitted as one MS WORD document.
Your work MUST have a completed coversheet. For this task, you should use the coversheet for anonymous assessments. The blank form of that coversheet is available on the VLE, in the assessments folder located in the UG YLS LLB – Programme Site‘
The coversheet should be completed and attached to your coursework as the first page of the document, so as to form a single MS WORD document that you will submit through the VLE.
Your work must NOT have your name on it. Instead, you must ensure that you use your Exam Number to identify your submission. Please write your Exam Number on the coversheet, where indicated, and at the top of the first page of your work, and also (preferably) in a header so it appears on each page of your work. You will find your Exam Number on your student card (it begins with ‘Y’). If you are in any doubt over your number, you should contact the York Law School Undergraduate Administrator.
Your work should be formatted and presented in accordance with the agreed YLS Guidelines, which you will find at:
https://vle.york.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_3623546_1&course_id=_97432_1
Referencing
Your work should draw on a range of appropriate sources. You also need to provide a Bibliography of the sources used, in appropriate style. You should use the OSCOLA referencing system to support your work. Here is a link to the full, current OSCOLA referencing handbook.
Anonymous Marking
This coursework will be marked anonymously. Accordingly, you should ensure that you use your Exam Number to identify your submission. (Please do not put your name anywhere on your submission). You will find your Exam Number on your student card (it begins with ‘Y’). If you are in any doubt over your number, you should contact the York Law School Undergraduate Administrator.
Academic Misconduct
You must ensure that you understand and comply with the University’s rules regarding plagiarism and other academic misconduct (the Guide to this is available at: http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-services/academic-misconduct/).
Learning outcomes
This assessment is intended to assess the achievement of the Module Learning Outcomes:
- An understanding of the role of confidentiality, patents, copyright, and design rights in the protection of ideas and their expression;
- An understanding of the role of trade marks and the law of passing-off in the protection of business goodwill and brands;
- An understanding of the territorial nature of the intellectual property system, the international mechanisms used to address this, and the concept of exhaustion of rights;
- The ability to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different intellectual property rights for the protection of a variety of commercial products;
- The ability to advise clients on how intellectual property rights can, and cannot be, used to promote or finance a business, or to protect an individual’s creative effort;
- The ability to apply the knowledge and techniques developed in the module in different contexts.
THE TASK:
Client Advice Letters.
The Case Study is divided into eight parts (Case Study Parts I to VIII) – each Part being dealt with at the relevant PBL session according to the timetable set out in the Module Guide.
You will assume the role of the intellectual property specialist solicitor acting for the main protagonist (or as appropriate, his company) in the Case Study. Imagine that in relation to each Case Study Part, that solicitor (you) is requested to write a letter (“Advice Letter”) to the client advising on the current position.
You will be required to submit three Advice Letters:
- one Advice Letter chosen from either Case Study Parts I, II or III;
- one Advice Letter chosen from either Case Study Parts IV, V, VI or VII; and
- an Advice Letter relating to Case Study Part VIII.
The Word Limit for the total of three Advice Letters is 4,000 words.
Please treat these as real client letters – they will be assessed on that basis. Each Advice Letter should be written as if it is a formal letter and dated on the next working day after the last date mentioned in the relevant Case Study Part (or as otherwise advised by the Module Leader).
Please use addresses (fabricated for both your firm and the client) in the letter – these do count toward the word limit. You may want to use a firm logo. You can fabricate a name for yourself as the solicitor – don’t use your real name for obvious reasons. Please could I kindly ask for none of the following: Harvey Specter, Jessica Pearson, Louis Litt, Mike Ross or, especially, Rachel Zane.
Please mark the letters Advice Letter I to VIII at the top of the Letter, as appropriate.
If you are writing Letter VI – you may cut and paste the Trade Marks Search Table (provided as Annex 1 to Part VI). Please assume that this is correct. This table does not count toward the word count.
The Advice Letters should seek, where appropriate, to describe the legal problem(s), the potential legal solution(s), and the commercially realistic options available to the client. The client should be treated as a well-educated (but not legally trained) individual who is interested to know why he needs to take certain actions, as well as what his commercial options are.
Although most lay clients would not necessarily wish to see authorities in letters addressed to them, for the purposes of this assessment please use footnotes to give authority to the points you make (please also see the guidance above and below re Word Limits) and use OSCOLA citation style (as mentioned above). Explanations of the fact pattern and/or ratio of a cited case may be used in the body of the letter where you think it appropriate to give a strong message to the client.
Some solicitors will use a client letter in part to reiterate the fact pattern communicated to them and establish that the solicitor has understood it correctly. Although this is good practice in many situations (and is, I believe, the approach followed in the Clinic Module), due to word limit constraints you are not required in your Advice Letter to fully reiterate the fact pattern of the PBL Case Study. You will be assessed on the quality of your advice – you should therefore keep any reiteration of the fact pattern to a minimum and repeat factual elements only to the extent that you consider they are reasonably required to ensure that the client understands to what your advice relates.
Although there will be areas of focus in each of the PBL sessions, the Case Study Parts have (very deliberately) not been rigidly partitioned into the specific areas of intellectual property law. Therefore different elements of intellectual property law will appear (and sometimes reappear) throughout the Case Study where appropriate. It is common in practice for a situation to require an appreciation and application of many different intellectual property rights and this combined/parallel approach is intended to allow for a more realistic introduction of problems into the Case Study and an opportunity to recreate more realistic Advice Letters. Therefore, although you will be submitting only three Advice Letters, you will (as you would in practice) need to develop a thorough understanding of the entire fact pattern as it develops, as this will influence your ongoing advice.
END OF TASK
