Key points

Degree: Master of Laws (LL.M.).
Specialization: European and Transnational Law of Intellectual Property and Information Technology.
Language of instruction: English.
Duration: 1 year (1 October to 30 September).
Workload: 60 ECTS credits.
Study mode: full-time.
Admission requirements: bachelor's degree plus 1 year of professional experience.
Tuition fee: 7,800 euros (€3900 per semester); early applicants 7,200 euros.
Scholarships: full and partial tuition waivers.
Application deadline: 30 June.
Number of students per year: 40-45.
Number of lecturers (including guest lecturers): 40-45.

Overview

The LL.M. in European and Transnational Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (LIPIT) is a postgraduate program directed at providing the in-depth understanding of legal issues arising from the creation and use of literary or artistic works, mechanical or scientific inventions, digital information, and other intangible assets. It covers a wide variety of subjects, including copyright, patents, trademarks, telecommunications, electronic commerce, information security, and data protection.

Because it is more and more common for transactions with intellectual property and information technology products to transcend national boundaries, this LL.M. Program is conceived as distinctly international and comparative in nature. Solutions from various legal systems are often presented when examining modern problems of the IP and IT law, and cases spreading over two or more countries are regularly discussed and analyzed. One consequence of such an approach is that this Program is suitable for lawyers and other professionals from different countries, rather than being limited to one particular jurisdiction.

Besides the Program's international character, strong emphasis is placed on establishing the direct link to practice. Many classes are taught by experienced attorneys and other practitioners. In lectures and seminars, legal issues are examined largely through analyzing real court cases, identifying concrete common problems and searching for effective solutions to them. Through hands-on workshops and projects, newly acquired knowledge is further enhanced and developed into readily applicable practical skills.

Target group

The main target group of this LL.M. Program is lawyers working or wishing to work with creative and innovative industries. The Program is designed to expand their expertise in the IP and IT law by focusing on issues and aspects that are usually not included in a regular legal studies curriculum, for example the cross-border enforcement of rights stemming from the IP and IT law.

Since the branches of IP and IT Law lie at the intersection of the law with technology, science and arts, the Program is also open to engineers, computer scientists, media managers, and other professionals seeking to enhance their understanding of legal regulation, policies, and mechanisms of protection in the fields of intellectual property and information technology. As a result, Program participants can benefit from exchanging opinions, engaging in group projects and other forms of cooperation with graduates of other disciplines, which helps them to better understand different angles and perspectives of the topics they study.

Besides the variety of academic and professional backgrounds, we also strive to achieve diverse geographic representation in the selection of each year's Program participants. Such diversity enriches classroom discussions and collaborative activities by ensuring the exchange and application of ideas and approaches from various legal systems and cultural environments.

Program duration

Your studies at the LIPIT Program will normally take around one year (from October to September). During this time, you will have to obtain 60 ECTS credits, including 20 credits for a completion of a master's thesis. If your total post-secondary education lasted less than 4 years, you might be required to earn more credits in order to be awarded the LL.M. degree. In this case, our educational adviser will help you to work out an individual study plan that will allow you to earn the required credits without exceeding the normal Program duration.

Program language

Considering the international makeup of the Program, English has been chosen as its language of instruction. Therefore, in order to be admitted to the Program, applicants will have to demonstrate that their English language skills are sufficient for the purposes of higher education.

Though knowledge of German language is not a pre-requisite for admission, it is certainly very useful for managing everyday life and studies in Germany. Therefore, we encourage our international students to learn some German before the beginning of the Program and to take advantage of numerous language learning opportunities offered by the University of Göttingen while studying here. Specifically, students can attend all the courses offered by the University's language center (ZESS) free of charge.

Curriculum

In order to gain your LL.M. degree, you will have to obtain at least 60 ECTS credits. 20 credits will be awarded for the completion of the individual master's module, which involves the preparation and writing of a master's thesis. The remaining 40 ECTS credits can be obtained by completing a sufficient number of group study modules, each of which equals to at least 5 ECTS credits. The list of modules can vary slightly from year to year, but the examples below generally provide a good idea of the available modules:

Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Law
Fundamentals of Information Technology Law
Fundamentals of EU Law and German Legal System
Advanced Intellectual Property Law
Advanced Information Technology Law
Competition and Regulation in Digital Markets
Unfair Competition Law
E-Commerce Law
Data Protection Law
Introduction to Information Technology and Legal Informatics
Economic Foundations of IP and IT Law
International IP and IT Law
Conflict of Laws and Comparative IP and IT Law
Transnational IP Contracts
Transnational IT Projects
Transnational Enforcement of IP and IT Law


Why study in Göttingen?

The University of Göttingen is constantly ranked among the best German higher education institutions in various national and international university rankings. Since its foundation in 1737, it has provided excellent study and research opportunities to students and scholars from all over the world, including more than 40 Nobel Prize winners. Besides the instruction and guidance from prominent professors and other experts, Göttingen students benefit from the access to first-class study facilities, for example Göttingen State and University Library, which is one of the largest libraries in Germany, containing around 8 million items and providing access to numerous legal and other scholarly databases.

Göttingen University's Faculty of Law enjoys excellent reputation for teaching, research, and professional development. Throughout the centuries of its existence, it has been renowned for advancing the legal science and offering outstanding legal training by eminent jurists like Johann Stephan Pütter or Rudolf von Jhering. Consequently, Göttingen has always been a very attractive place for those wishing to study law, including some famous historic figures like Otto von Bismarck or Wilhelm von Humboldt.

A number of attractive features make studying law in Göttingen especially rewarding. For example, legal education here has a strong link to practice, offering classes not only by professors, but also by practicing attorneys and other practitioners. In addition, many professors are also active outside the academia, for example as legal advisers, members of legislative commissions or judges of highest courts.

Another appealing aspect of Göttingen Law Faculty is its internationality. As well as hosting students from all over the world and providing numerous exchange opportunities, the Faculty also offers classes by visiting professors from other countries and is involved in continuous international cooperation through various dedicated bodies like German-Chinese Legal Science Institute or European Academy of Law and ICT.

Further advantages for law students in Göttingen derive from the wide variety of specialized institutes and other specialization clusters, which ensure that numerous legal subjects can be studied from multiple perspectives and in all their aspects. For example, the Institute of Business Law lets the students of IP and IT law benefit from the combined expertise of Professor Körber, a well-known expert on telecommunication law, competition law and law of search engines; Professor Spindler, the author of popular commentaries and monographs on e-commerce, electronic media, open source and other topics; Professor Wiebe, renowned for his works on ICT law, unfair competition, copyright and data protection; as well as other specialists in these and related areas. Professors Körber, Spindler and Wiebe are also involved in numerous legal policy development activities in Germany, Europe and beyond. These professors were actively engaged in establishing the LIPIT Program and currently they make up its Academic Board.

In addition to lectures and seminars by well-known experts in their fields, students can take advantage of various conferences, workshops, and study trips organized or co-organized by the Faculty or individual professors. For example, students can participate in the yearly International Research Forum on Law and ICT/IP, Göttingen IT Law Forum, and the Summer School of European IP and ICT Law.

Regulations

Full text of the University regulations regarding the LIPIT LLM Program can be found here