LLM International Business and Commercial Law

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• LLM (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £17,600
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £32,600

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

This course situates UK Patent Law within European and international contexts, necessary to understand it as a global subject. Addressing areas that attract heaviest debate, The course  progresses through patent application and prosecution, patentability, claim construction and infringement to contemporary "hot" topics situated within broader policy contexts. This   year, the focus is directed to the topical issue of securing access to patented medicines and vaccines for countries with limited or no pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in the context of a public health emergency.  

• Understand the general principles and concepts that shape patent law to solve legal problems. 

• Ability to use this knowledge in sophisticated ways to support critical analysis of jurisprudence and scholarship. 

• Enhance transferable skills, for example proficiency in oral and written communication, capacity for independent learning, and capacity for working co-operatively with others. 

• Develop skill using research tools necessary for writing Masters-level research. 

• Enhance capacity for independent learning.

Teaching on the course involves a blended approach of traditional lectures complemented with activities to support different learning styles. The “policy” component of the patent course is based on enquiry-based learning (problem-based learning). This involves students working in teams to research an area of law, collate information, produce legal advice and practice argumentation skills in simulated meetings. 

 

 

There are four seminars, which are facilitated by a lecturer, and a 2-hour problem-based learning workshop. Attendance at all these is compulsory. 

 

 

Seminar sheets are on Canvas. The reading materials include a series of specific scholarly articles and case-law. 

 

 

Understand the requirements in patent law for invention, novelty, inventive step, industrial application, exclusions, infringement, remedies and defences. Understand the value and importance of the patent system for research, technological development and economic

advancement. Understand how to evaluate research and advanced scholarship in patent law.

On completion of this unit successful students will: 

• Explain the sources of European patent law and the formal relationship between each of the instruments, demonstrating awareness of policy considerations promoted by bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Health Organisation. 

• Appraise the form and trajectory of patent law, useful to ground professional training. 

• Write critically and analytically according to the published criteria for postgraduate taught assessment on issues raised by the course. 

• Gain conceptual understanding to evaluate research and advanced scholarship.

• Demonstrate a systematic and creative approach to deal with complex issues in patent law.

On completion of this unit successful students will: 

• Perform searches of the EPO patent database, explain how patent information is organised and how to use it. 

• Be familiar with using various digital platforms and legal databases (e.g. Westlaw, Lexis).

• Be able to apply for a patent via the PCT, EPO and national route. Be able to classify (and explain to a client) the stages of patent prosecution. 

• Utilise the Doha Declaration to apply the TRIPS procedure to issue a compulsory license (for a medicine). 

• Complete legal documentation in a simulated case. 

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of claim drafting skills.

On completion of this unit successful students will demonstrate: 

• Academic legal skills relating to analysis and argumentation that may usefully be applied in practice, or further/doctoral study. 

• Problem-solving skills, through experience of problem-based learning to break down a legal problem and apply knowledge to find an effective solution. 

• Collaborative team working skills, by effectively working with people to devise solutions to a legal problem. 

• Communication skills, by producing well-written, substantive legal argument, whereby legal concepts are explained (verbally and in writing). 

• Feedback skills, by articulating the main ideas of how to effectively receive feedback, to identify one’s own areas for improvement and implement responsive change. 

• IT skills, e.g. specialist database searching.

24 -hour on-line examination, open book. Students attempt three questions from six (mixed problem and essay questions).  100%

Formative feedback is provided informally within class discussions, quizzes and seminars. Students can submit answers to a range of exam-style questions for written feedback, throughout the course. 

Formative feedback is also provided on non-assessed coursework, offering detailed comments on strengths and specific areas for improvement. 

Face to face support/feedback is available for 4 hours each teaching week during office hours. 

L Bently, B Sherman, D Gangjee and P Thompson Intellectual Property Law (OUP 2022)

Timetable: See School of Law PG timetable.