Postgraduate Certificate Intellectual Property

This part-time course provides a development opportunity and will increase your prospects and employability by giving you practical skills and theoretical knowledge that firms and Intellectual Property departments, alike, are demanding.

Delivery:
Part-Time

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Why study PG Cert Intellectual Property at BU?

Obtain full exemptions from the foundation level examinations for qualification as a patent attorney or trade mark attorney in the UK (IPReg/CIPA/CITMA)
Have the option to follow the patent attorney or trade mark attorney path (please indicate on your application)
You can complete this course whilst in full-time employment; more than 80% of our students are sponsored by their employers
If you do not have prior legal knowledge you will be supported by a range of online activities relating to foundational principles of law (such as the English legal system, contract law and tort).

Find out more about the content of this course.

Course accreditation

The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) are the independent regulatory body for patent and trade mark attorneys and are responsible for setting the education and training requirements for qualification as a patent attorney and a trade mark attorney.

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Next start date:

January 2023

Location:

Blended Study: Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus and Online. Online Study: Online only

Duration:

Blended study: 5 months. Attendance at BU for three weekends, supported by e-activities between weekends and a final exam. Online study: 5 months. Attendance online including recorded lectures with live Q&A sessions, e-activities and a final exam.

Accreditations:

Intellectual Property Regulation Board

Entry requirements:

Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject or appropriate training and/or work experience. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component or equivalent. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

Course details

The course is delivered over five months, beginning January.

Download the programme specification (pdf 579kb)

Core units

Patents & Designs: This unit will enable you to understand the legal regimes governing Patents and Designs. It will continue to update your knowledge of the law and apply legislation and judicial decisions to situations that may arise in the workplace. You will learn to use knowledge of prevailing Patents and Designs law to maximum advantage.
Copyright & Trademarks: During this unit you will develop a systematic understanding of the legal regimes governing Copyright and Trademarks. It will continue to update your knowledge of relevant UK, European and International law and it will also enable you to independently apply legislation and judicial decisions to novel situations that may arise in a commercial context.

*Please note – all units include mandatory online e-activities.

Option units

Choose one of the following option units:

International Intellectual Property Practice (Patent Attorney Route)
International Intellectual Property Practice (TradeMark Attorney Route)

There is a common syllabus over these two units, focusing on national and international procedure in respect of securing and defending patent and trademark rights. If you chose the patent route, you'll have an additional taught component on patent drafting. For the trademark route, you'll cover competition-related provisions. Both units are taught by leading practitioners.

*Please note – all units include mandatory online e-activities.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Blended Study dates

Your application

What we’re looking for

For Intellectual Property we are looking for applicants who:

Have a background in a law related discipline or demonstrate a passion for intellectual property
Can evaluate legal situations and contribute to group discussions and debates
Are self-motivated and competent in managing their own study and workload
Can draw upon previous experience and expertise in order to fully contribute to this course.

You will also need to have excellent research skills and the ability to critically examine theory and practise surrounding the field of intellectual property. We encourage applications from hard-working individuals who are keen to enhance their career prospects in the legal and scientific professions.

Selection methods

How to apply

The application deadline for January 2023 entry to this course is the 6 January 2023. If you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

India: Bachelor’s degree (4 years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%.
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:2
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0
Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in writing, speaking, listening and reading, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Careers

Example job roles and employers

Graduates from our Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property are working in various roles, such as:

Commercial Manager
Intellectual Property Consultant
Patent Executive
Patent Attorney.

They have gone on to work for a wide range of organisations, including the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the Institute of Trademarks Attorneys, Leanman Brown, Marks & Clerk, Schlich & Co.

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section.

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

No hidden extras

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, intregrated social media and advanced video features.
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchases separately.
Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding can be found on our website.
Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
SportsBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

Repeat units

Deposits

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable £3,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Financial help available from BU

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. Please note that staff can change.

Professor Dinusha Mendis – Course Leader

Professor Dinusha Mendis is Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law and Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM). She joined Bournemouth University in 2011 as Senior Lecturer in Law and was appointed Associate Professor in November 2013 and Professor in November 2016.

Dinusha's research focuses on the digital aspects of copyright, copyright licensing and digital copyright policy as well as considering the challenges to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) as a result of Emerging Technologies.

In 2018, Dinusha was awarded a project by the European Commission (as Principal Investigator) to conduct research into the 'Intellectual Property Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing'. The project awarded in June 2018 was completed in April 2020 in collaboration with partners from UK, Germany, Austria and Finland.

Currently, Dinusha is leading a 4-year project for the EU Intellectual Property Office on the enforcement of intellectual property law as well as researching and publishing on the intellectual property implications of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

View Professor Dinusha Mendis' staff profile

Course changes

Changes in 2019

Date	Changes to this course
25/06/2019	Where the change was made: Key information and Entry requirements Change: Required subject removed for January 2021 entry Previous text: Required subjects for January 2020 entry: Law, Accounting, Management, Business or Marketing (if you intend to select the Trade Mark Attorney Route); Law, Sciences or Engineering (if you intend to select the Patent Attorney Route)

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