Postgraduate Course: European Competition and Innovation (LAWS11271)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law | 
College | College of Humanities and Social Science | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) | 
 
| Course type | Online Distance Learning | 
Availability | Not available to visiting students | 
 
| SCQF Credits | 20 | 
ECTS Credits | 10 | 
 
 
| Summary | This module examines the principal issues arising from the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU to practices aimed at furthering innovation and investment. It will include a consideration of the following topics: 
 
Article 101 TFEU: current approaches to prima facie anti-competitive agreements in general; legal implications of joint venture arrangements and the application of Article 101(3) to individual cases; the current Block Exemption on Technology Transfer Agreements. 
 
Article 102 TFEU: current approaches to abuses of dominant position generally the 2009 Enforcement Priorities document; abuse of dominance in innovative industries; the problem of network effects; issues arising from the application of Article 102 to industry leaders' refusals to deal and to license. | 
 
| Course description | 
    
    Session titles: 
 
Session 1: What is competition? 
Session 2: Article 101 TFEU: the basics 
Session 3: Article 101(3) TFEU: the "legal exception" clause 
Session 4: Case studies 
Session 5: The Block Exemption Regulation on the Transfer of Technology 
Session 6: Article 102 TFEU: the basics 
Session 7: Innovative industries and abuse of dominance 
Session 8: Refusals to deal and to license (1): sharing "indispensable" infrastructure; 
Session 9: Refusals to deal and license (2): Article 102 and Intellectual Property Rights-- the Microsoft case. 
Session 10: Current issues 
    
    
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites | 
 | 
Co-requisites |  | 
 
| Prohibited Combinations |  | 
Other requirements |  Please contact the distance learning team at escript.support@ed.ac.uk | 
 
| Additional Costs |  Students must have regular and reliable access to the internet. | 
 
 
Course Delivery Information
 |  
| Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1) 
  
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Quota:  None | 
 
| Course Start | 
Semester 1 | 
 
Timetable  | 
	
Timetable | 
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) | 
 
 Total Hours:
200
(
 Seminar/Tutorial Hours 40,
 Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
 | 
 
| Assessment (Further Info) | 
 
  Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
 | 
 
 
| Additional Information (Assessment) | 
One essay of up to 4,000 words (60%); one individual assignment (20%); contribution to weekly online discussions throughout the semester (20%).  
 
Requirements for all module assessments will be outlined to students within the individual modules at the start of each semester. | 
 
| Feedback | 
Students can expect to receive timely feedback on their assessments. | 
 
| No Exam Information | 
 
Learning Outcomes 
    On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
    
        - critically analyse the most common arrangements leading to the emergence of new products and technologies in light of the EU competition rules;
 - discuss possible implications of the application of Articles 101 and 102 to the most common commercial practices occurring in investment driven industries;
 - identify problems and possible tensions between the demands of competitive markets and the need to continue encouraging innovation in the long term;
 - suggest solutions to these problems.
 
     
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Reading List 
The reading for the course relies in particular on one textbook, namely: Lorenz, An Introduction to EU Competition Law, 2013: Cambridge University Press. This is a very accessible textbook which is especially suitable to conveying the 'essential' information on each topic. 
 
A list of key module readings will be available in advance of the module. Detailed reading lists are then available each week. |   
 
Additional Information
| Course URL | 
http://edin.ac/1G60eLL | 
 
| Graduate Attributes and Skills | 
Students will develop their skills and abilities in: 
 
1. Research and enquiry, through e.g. selecting and deploying appropriate research techniques; 
2. Personal and intellectual autonomy, e.g. developing the ability to independently assess the relevance and importance of primary and secondary sources; 
3. Communication, e.g. skills in summarising and communicating information and ideas effectively in written form; 
4. Personal effectiveness, e.g. working constructively as a member of an online community; 
5. Students will also develop their technical/practical skills, throughout the module, e.g. in articulating, evidencing and sustaining a line of argument, and engaging in a convincing critique of another's arguments. 
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| Special Arrangements | 
This course is taught by distance learning. | 
 
| Additional Class Delivery Information | 
This course is taught by distance learning. | 
 
| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Dr Arianna Andreangeli 
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008 
Email:  | 
Course secretary | Ms Clare Polson 
Tel: (0131 6)51 4411 
Email:  | 
   
 
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