Introduction
This innovative degree blends advanced-level teaching and research in intellectual property and information law with practical and professional skills training to provide you with a valuable basis for a successful career in this field.
Carefully coordinated to align with the competencies required for today's international job market, the professional skills programme provides new insights into the ever-evolving realities of professional and commercial life, placing graduates in very strong positions to gain opportunities and flourish in them. Designed by our academics and expert practitioners, this combined input will enable you to gain unique insights into this area and will advance your understanding of the factors that influence it.
Study Information
Study Options
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- LLM
- Duration
- 12 months or 24 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January or September
This programme provides a challenging and stimulating base for careers in innovation, creativity and information technology. In this constantly evolving field, this dynamic programme focuses on areas such art, literature, brands, media, cultural heritage, health, food, agriculture, new technologies, data and artificial intelligence. The programme responds to contemporary developments and empowers graduates to flourish, shape and lead in the legal profession, international policy making, industry, journalism and civil society, amongst others.
The Professional Skills path will continue the advanced-level research led teaching and also deliver practical and professional skills training to provide you with a valuable basis for a successful career in this exciting, challenging and wide-ranging global space. All Professional Skills courses begin with one week’s intensive practical training in negotiation, communication and presentation skills. For the next two weeks, the International Intellectual Property and Information Law cohort then focus on an evolving scenario across the innovation and information space, designed to reflect the realities of professional life. Our well qualified international staff and guests from academia, industry, policy making, public engagement and the legal profession take an integrated perspective on points which can arise, and we also visit local innovators. There are individual and group oral assessments during the teaching in June and individual and group written assessments in July and August. You will be offered choices of assessment path content; however, a key strength of the programme is that all students gain knowledge and expertise across the diverse range of issues which can arise in professional life in this field.
Please note, we have a Dissertation study route available for this programme too.
Available Programmes of Study
- LLM
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International Intellectual Property and Information Law with Professional Skills
Qualification Duration Learning Mode Study Mode Start MonthLLM 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time January MoreProgramme Fees
Fee information Fee category Cost EU / International students £27,000 Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year UK £13,200 Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year Semester 1
Information for part-time route: This route will run over three academic years. LS551T and PD5506 must be taken in Year 1.
Please note, this is an indicative course list. For course information, please contact law-pg-enquiries@abdn.ac.uk or refer to your Course Handbook.
Compulsory Courses
- Critical Legal Thinking and Scholarship (LS551T)
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This course provides students from diverse legal and educational backgrounds with a common understanding of the core research, analytical, and writing skills which will be required for LLM-Taught courses. The course is delivered as a series of five interactive lectures with two individual assessments designed to encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for early feedback. It also incorporates a library workshop to provide students with hands-on experience with the resources available for course and dissertation work.
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
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This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Courses to the value of 120 credit points, at least 90 credit points from optional lists in semesters 1 and 3. Remaining credit points may be obtained from any Level 5 30 credit Law course.
- Media Law (LS553H)
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30 Credit Points
This course is designed for law as well as non-law students who are interested in public communication via mass media – some may be interested in pursuing a career in journalism, marketing, or politics, others may nevertheless be interested in gaining insights into the legal mechanisms which regulate public communication through mass media in these fields. The course aims to develop an in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of the relevant legal mechanisms.
- Regulation of Biometric Data and Profiling: Social, Ethical and Legal (LS553N)
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30 Credit Points
The course examines the regulation of biometric data and profiling in the European Union and the United Kingdom, focusing on striking a balance between technological development and regulatory processes. It begins with an in-depth exploration of biometrics and profiling within the legal framework of data protection and anti-discrimination laws, particularly the EU GDPR and the EU AI Act, and applies a comparative method to analyse the 2018 Data Protection Act (DPA). The course also addresses the ethical, social, and human rights aspects of biometric technology, aiming to foster innovative legal thinking to resolve the "privacy paradox."
- International Cybersecurity Law (LS554A)
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30 Credit Points
The course addresses international legal issues raised by the increasing need to secure information and communication technology. It explores the modalities of international cyberattacks; discusses data protection in the EU and UK; questions the scope of the obligation of States to secure cyberspace; studies the role of private companies in reacting to harmful online content and international cyberattacks; analyses how cyberoperations can be attributed to States; examines what cyberoperations perpetrated by States violate international law and how victim States could react to those operations; and describes the governance in international cybersecurity.
- Trade Marks and Brand Development (LS5584)
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30 Credit Points
This course tracks the ongoing interactions between trade mark and related laws on the one hand and the social and commercial practices of branding on the other. Through the use of cases and contemporary examples throughout, the course examines trade mark and related laws within their historical, current, and developing social and commercial contexts. It offers a critical view of developments in the laws, their roles in and responses to the evolving practices of branding. It provides students with both an analytical and a practical view on the protection of trade mark and related rights.
- Commercialising Innovation and Law (LS5595)
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30 Credit Points
Students will explore the diversity of laws and practices relevant to commercialising innovation. We will consider patents, trade secrets, copyright and database rights, new business models, competition, natural resources and activities in developing areas. Visiting speakers from practice and industry are regularly invited. In the first session, students develop an innovative idea, as a base for discussion in each session. Seminars involve individual and group work, and the preparation of posters.
- Cultural Property Issues: Law Art and Museums (LS55UU)
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30 Credit Points
Taught by museum expert and law academics, this course will examine cultural property issues such as treasure trove, looting and repatriation, forgery, sacred and street art, the derogatory treatment of art, and the commercialisation of artworks. Objects from the University Museum and collections worldwide will be drawn on to illustrate aspects of the course. Museum practice and operational experience will also inform the discussions in class. Students will be encouraged to explore and develop their own ideas. Facilitating this, the course will include a programme of case studies and/or issue papers to be presented by students for class discussion.
Semester 2
Optional Courses
- Professional Skills in International Ip and Information Law (LS5914)
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60 Credit Points
This course enables students to develop professional and practical skills in intellectual property law. This course will take the place of a dissertation.
Semester 3
Please note, this is an indicative course list for 2023/24 entrants. September 2022 and January 2023 LLM Intellectual Property Law student should contact law-pg-enquiries@abdn.ac.uk for course information or refer to your Course Handbook’
Optional Courses
Courses to the value of 120 credit points, at least 90 credit points from optional lists in semesters 1 and 3. Remaining credit points may be obtained from any Level 5 30 credit Law course.
- International Intellectual Property: Framework and Challenges (LS502L)
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30 Credit Points
Students will explore the diverse elements of law which constitute international intellectual property law. We will consider the historical development of international intellectual property rights, framework of international treaties and organisation, copyright (with a particular focus on new developments in the digital age), geographical indications, patents and designs. Throughout the course, the challenge is to identify conflicts and synergies, and areas for future development, through regard to cases, scholarship, and the activities of policy makers and activists. Assesment is by an essay, an individual presentation and discussion board submissions. Description: The course considers key issues relating to international intellectual property law which may vary from year to year consistent with the legal and social evolution of the fields; the course will explore copyright, geographical indications, patents, designs, and their relationship with regional and international treateis and international organisation; key themes will be drawn together in a practical presentation session.
- Copyright and Patents (LS502P)
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30 Credit Points
This course is a substantive and critical analysis of two key areas of intellectual property law, copyright and patents, with a UK and European focus, and their impact on innovation and creativity. This course complements other innovation law LLM courses which focus on commercial, policy and sector matters.
- Privacy and Data Protection Law (LS504B)
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30 Credit Points
The course aims to introduce students to the core aspects of privacy and data protection law, exploring its international, European, and national dimension.
The course aims to introduce students to the core aspects of privacy and data protection law, exploring its international, European, and national dimension.
The course addresses, in particular, the role of data privacy regulation in the digital environment, critically discussing key global challenges, such as: international data transfers; artificial intelligence and its impact on data subject’s rights; the balance between the right to data protection and other fundamental freedoms (e.g. freedom of expression).
- AI and Data: Ethical and Legal Considerations (PH5074)
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30 Credit Points
This course will introduce and investigate a number of legal and ethical issues around the ethics of technology, particularly around the ethics of artificial intelligence. We will address questions such as the moral status of artificial agents; the difference, if any, between human rights and artificial rights, problems of data bias. We will also consider the question of responsibility in this arena and review regulatory frameworks. This course would be of interest to students from computer science, philosophy, law and health sciences.
LLM 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time September More
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Fee Information
Additional Fee Information
- Fees for individual programmes can be viewed in the Programmes section above.
- In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses.
- For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our Tuition Fees page.
Scholarships
Self-funded international students enrolling on Postgraduate Taught (PGT) programmes for January 2025 will receive one of our Aberdeen Global Scholarships, ranging from £3,000 to £8,000, depending on your domicile country. Learn more about these Aberdeen Global Scholarships here.
From September 2025 all eligible self-funded international Postgraduate Masters students will receive an £8,000 scholarship. Learn more about this Aberdeen Global Scholarship here.
To see our full range of scholarships, visit our Funding Database.
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- Group Projects
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- Research
- Seminars
- Tutorials
- Workshops
Assessment Methods
By course work, by written examination, or by a combination of these, as prescribed for each course. Within the Professional Skills course assessment is by an individual presentation, a group presentation, and an individual written and a group written project, with written projects to be submitted in July and August of each academic year. This degree will be of transnational interest, providing students with a strong base to further grow and diversify their career opportunities and offerings.
Why Study International Intellectual Property and Information Law with Professional Skills?
A foundation discipline of the University in 1495, the Law School today is considered one of the UK’s elite training grounds for lawyers. The University of Aberdeen is known for attracting world-class teaching staff with international experience in their specialist subjects, meaning you will have access to first rate teaching from globally respected thought leaders.
Intellectual property and information law are among the most valuable parts of business and society. At Aberdeen you will have the opportunity to explore their power and learn about the challenges from activists, policy makers and competitors. You will learn how intellectual property and information law can aid and limit innovation, creativity and social and technological development, within a range of corporate and economic frameworks.
There are over 40 nationalities within the School of Law community, so you will benefit from the experiences of international students from all over the world.
Students choose to study Law at Aberdeen because of our reputation for academic excellence and unrivalled student experience. At Aberdeen, you will:
- Gain a degree in a challenging and stimulating subject that will enable you to engage with a future that lies in innovation and technology.
- Develop valuable transferable skills, gain advanced knowledge and build networks upon which to base your future career.
- Benefit from learning about intellectual property and information laws overseas as well as in the UK as our Law School attracts students from all over the world.
- Benefit from studying in small class sizes and have the opportunity to learn in a friendly community where you will have access to teaching staff whenever you need.
The University also has a leading Law careers service that organises events focused on providing you with the additional skills needed to make the most of your career potential.
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
Normally, a 2.1 honours degree (or equivalent) in Law will be required to be accepted onto this programme. Relevant practical experience in a related field will also be beneficial.
Please enter your country to view country-specific entry requirements.
English Language Requirements
To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
IELTS Academic:
OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
TOEFL iBT:
OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
PTE Academic:
OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59
Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:
OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Read more about specific English Language requirements here.
Document Requirements
You will be required to supply the following documentation with your application as proof you meet the entry requirements of this degree programme. If you have not yet completed your current programme of study, then you can still apply and you can provide your Degree Certificate at a later date.
- Degree Transcript
- a full transcript showing all the subjects you studied and the marks you have achieved in your degree(s) (original & official English translation)
- Personal Statement
- a detailed personal statement explaining your motivation for this particular programme
- Reference
- a reference letter from your university discussing your academic ability. If you have been out of education for a long time you may wish to use your current or most recent employer, or another professional person
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
Eligible self-funded Postgraduate Taught (PGT) students will receive the Aberdeen Global Scholarship. Explore our Global Scholarships, including eligibility details, on our dedicated pages.
January 2025 September 2025Careers
A degree in International Intellectual Property and Information Law from Aberdeen could lead you to a career in law, journalism, media, technology, international policymaking, activism, or industry, among others.
Our Experts
- Other Experts
- Professor Abbe Brown, The University of Aberdeen
- Dr Catherine Ng, The University of Aberdeen
- Dr Patricia Zivkovic, The University of Aberdeen
- Prof Irène Couzigou, The University of Aberdeen
- Programme Coordinators
- Dr Titilayo Adebola, The University of Aberdeen
- Dr Rossana Ducato, The University of Aberdeen
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
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School of Law
University of Aberdeen
Taylor Building
Aberdeen
AB24 3UB