Personal tutor support and close contact with academic staff who are leaders in their field
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above (or equivalent). There’s no requirement to have studied law prior to joining the course, we welcome students from any academic background.
This LLM offers an engaging and rigorous study of intellectual property law in the context of technological innovation. Taught by leading experts in digital copyright, trademarks and patents, the programme provides a deep understanding of national and international IP regimes.
You’ll explore how legal systems respond to emerging technologies - such as digital assets and biotechnologies - and develop the skills to critically assess and apply legal principles in real-world contexts.
The programme is highly flexible, allowing you to tailor your degree through a wide range of optional modules aligned with your interests and career goals.
Throughout your studies, you’ll be affiliated with one of the Law School’s research centres, giving you access to a vibrant academic community. You’ll have opportunities to collaborate with fellow students and academics, share ideas and receive valuable feedback - enhancing your research experience and preparing you for a successful career in IP law.
The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
75 credits of compulsory modules, 105 credits of optional modules
Compulsory modules
Code
Module
Credits
Compulsory 1
Legal Research and Writing Skills
15
Dissertation
60
LAWM189: Legal Research and Writing Skills
Legal Research and Writing Skills is a module designed to equip you with academic skills relevant to the study of law at postgraduate level. You will study a range of contemporary approaches to legal research and writing, and learn about effective strategies in the use of sources. The module does not require or expect previous experience of researching and writing about law, and is suitable for all students on postgraduate programmes and pathways where there is a law element to the programme.
This module aims to provide you with a strong foundation in legal research and writing skills, including practical advice on navigating and using legal and academic resources, and opportunities for critical reflection on research methodologies. The module also aims to reinforce and embed your awareness of conventions associated with successful academic writing. You will learn about assessment criteria commonly used within postgraduate law programmes, and how to interpret those criteria to maximise your attainment. The module also aims to provide you with opportunities to evaluate your own work against accepted standards of academic writing.
This module is compulsory for students on the LLM programmes and relevant MRes programmes. It provides a valuable opportunity for you to gain experience in legal or socio-legal research, writing a dissertation on a particular legal or socio-legal topic of interest chosen by you and approved by your programme director.
You will be assigned an academic supervisor from the expertise available in the Law School, to match the proposed dissertation topic or your areas of interest. You will be given 3 research meetings with your supervisor during which they will guide your research and writing according to an individually agreed framework, but you are largely expected to determine your own deadlines and define your own work programme in order to meet the final submission deadline set by the Law School.
The module calls for excellent legal/socio-legal writing and research skills, personal discipline, and professional communication with the academic supervisor. For those of you who have not undertaken any large-scale legal research before, an introduction to the design and methodologies of legal research will be provided in Term 2. For those of you on the MRes programme, you are expected to draw on the grounding given in your core modules and any optional module relevant to your dissertation topic.
This is your opportunity to explore distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and blockchain critically and contextually, to consider the impact on our national and international legal, regulatory, and governance norms, institutions. During seminars, we will explore conceptual and practical aspects of these emergent technologies along with associated applications, including smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The aim is to build on your previous study of law and technology, and further enhance your interest and curiosity through critical analysis of the legal, political, economic, and social changes DLTs and blockchain are creating in the UK and beyond.
In this module you will examine the legal rules and principles involved in Digital Copyright Law. In addition to analysing the substantive laws, you will consider the underlying theoretical rationale of copyright law. You will look at a number of diverse issues, from the historical technical development of copyright law through to more recent issues such as the rise of digital peer to peer file sharing. By drawing on a number of legal and non-legal materials you will explore the complex social, economic and political context in which the digital copyright regulatory system operates. The module considers both US and UK law. The module requires a sound understanding of the principles of the legal system. There are, however, no specific pre-requisite or co-requisite modules that need to be undertaken. Any student may take the module but it is best suited to those who have some degree of legal knowledge.
The Community Law Clinic is a student-led pro bono opportunity run by the Law School. This module adopts experiential learning techniques to deliver a unique clinical experience as part of your LLM.
This module focuses on access to justice for those who are ineligible for legal aid but are otherwise unable to afford private legal advice. You will have the opportunity to undertake real casework for members of the public who have found themselves in a legal dispute. This module will enable you to develop the essential skills of communication, client interviewing, research, drafting legal advice and client record keeping. In addition, you will complete core clinic workshops on client skills, access to justice and professionalism.
Through this experiential learning you will be encouraged to reflect critically on your own individual learning process and gain a broader understanding of what access to justice really means and the barriers litigants in person face. This valuable clinical experience will increase employability for those wishing to go into the legal profession or any other professional service.
Artificial intelligence has ushered in the so-called 'The Fourth Revolution'. The expected benefits from increasing use of automated systems and devices span across sectors - from healthcare and banking to law enforcement, scientific research, and legal practice. However, the use of AI raises many legal, policy, and ethical issues, giving rise to perhaps the greatest challenge -- how to regulate AI? Starting with a foundation in principles of regulation of technology, you will examine legal and policy implications of deployment of AI to increase accuracy, efficiency, and profit. The module provides you with an examination of regulatory approaches to governing the rapidly growing use of AI across sectors.
The module focuses on studying the key elements of EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) and UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA). These rules have introduced a new regime for regulating competition in digital markets. You will learn the foundations of these two systems, the economic and commercial interests of the main stakeholders and mechanics of the legal rules underpinning the DMA and the DMCCA. You will examine the ways how the designated gatekeepers (Big Tech companies) comply with the new obligations imposed upon them by the DMCCA & DMA.
No prior knowledge of Competition Law is required for this module.
Trademarks and Patents is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of the law of trademarks and patents, including: the process by which trademarks and patents can be registered; legal requirements for trademark-ability and patentability; and remedies associated with infringement. You will study the law is it relates to domestic protection of trademarks and patents, as well as examples of international or regional systems for adjudication and redress, for example under the European Patent Convention. There will be an opportunity for you to study particular case studies, so that you can critically evaluate the effectiveness of the law in respect of a particular markets, industries or practices.
Copyright law provides you with a detailed understanding of domestic and international protection of creative outputs, both at a domestic level but also under various international treaties that seek to provide protection and adjudication at an international level. You will look at what types of work are capable of protection, how ownership can arise and be transferred or licensed, exceptions to copyright, and judicial mechanisms to enforce rights and provide remedies for infringement. You will also look at a number of industry-specific case studies, chosen because of how they challenge – but also construct – modern approaches to copyright, revealing how political, industrial and technological processes are not just contained by copyright principles, but also (re-)produce them.
LAWM196: Theories and Histories of Intellectual Property
Theories and Histories of Intellectual Property is a module to complement your more technical engagements with intellectual property in your other modules. In this module, you will examine different theories justifying the development of the law: is the purpose of intellectual property to provide the framework for the nurturing of innovation and invention? Or is intellectual property there to protect the moral rights of the creator or inventor to control use of their work? In this module, you will look at some of the historical developments in intellectual property, revealing how the law is a product or expression of particular historical, political and economic events. By combining the theoretical and historical contexts, the module encourages you to think critically about where we are going next in the development of intellectual property law.
LAWM197: Intellectual Property and Creative Industries
Intellectual Property and Creative Industries provides you with the opportunity to look in detail at industries including music, film and television, video games, advertising and marketing, visual art, and architecture. In this module you will develop a particular and detailed knowledge of specific IP protections in these industries, and how the law and industry practice interface with one another, in turn defining the other, and providing for a productive and rich source of economic activity. You will look at these industries in both domestic and international settings, and explore case studies which test the limits of intellectual property law and practice. You will also gain particular insight into industry practices and norms, which could be relevant to your future career in these sectors.
Comparative Intellectual Property aims to provide you with a comparative awareness of different jurisdictions and their protection of intellectual property. These jurisdictions will include several domestic and internationals legal systems, with the aim of understanding not only the differences in IP protection, but the social, cultural, economic and political reasons for these differences. With an awareness of these differences in IP protection, the module will provide you with strategic understanding of how different levels and forms of IP protection can provide opportunities for the monetisation of outputs and inventions globally. The international and comparative understanding of IP is also going to equip you with a strong foundation for the critique of IP law, by showing how there are choices to be made in how we protect intellectual property.
The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship
We are pleased to offer the University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship, a scholarship for University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship worth 20% of the cost of your first year tuition fees.
Formal teaching is delivered via weekly lectures or seminars, depending on group size. Course materials are delivered directly by academic staff, and you are encouraged to actively engage in discussions and debates. You will be in control of your own learning, appropriately supported by peers and staff including a personal tutor.
Assessment
As well as the dissertation, assessment is comprised almost entirely of extended coursework essays, with written examinations in some modules where appropriate.
Research
In addition to your studies, you’ll have the opportunity to benefit from a stimulating programme of research seminars designed to enable staff and postgraduate students to experience cutting-edge research by members of the academic and legal community both within and outside of Exeter.
Extra-curricular activities
Formal learning is enhanced by opportunities to participate in a range of exciting extra-curricular activities including pro bono projects, internships, mooting and networking events.
We have close and active links with Exeter Law School alumni and honorary doctorates, many of whom occupy powerful and prestigious roles in the legal community throughout the world. Where possible, we invite individuals from this community and the broader legal profession to engage with our postgraduate students, whether through research seminars or more informal events, providing you with valuable networking opportunities.
Facilities
The Lasok Law Library, located in the Forum holds in excess of 40,000 volumes and is open 24 hours a day. You can choose from diverse study spaces to suit your specific learning needs, whether dedicated quiet study, group work, or social learning over a coffee.
Our custom-built Moot Court offers students invaluable opportunities to take part in mooting activities and is equipped with the latest technology, including high-spec video conferencing.
Professor Griffin's main area of research relates to the impact of Intellectual Property laws upon technology.
His current research interests include copyright and rationality, copyright and technology, memes and copyright, communicative theory and copyright, art and the law, and interdisciplinary research into creativity.
Professor Griffin is also involved with the development of novel technologies, such as the tracking and tracing of information through technologies such as quantum and biological computers and has been helped lead projects developing patented digital watermarks for 3D printed objects.
Our Masters programmes are designed to prepare you for a successful career, wherever in the world you plan to work. Employers expect advanced communication and technical skills, team-working and independent research, project-management and the very latest specialist knowledge from their postgraduate recruits.
Graduate destinations
LLM graduates either continue on the academic path and pursue their studies with a PhD; others go into private practice, corporate or public employment – including international trading companies and law firms, chartering, trade, and marine insurance, the European Commission, the Governments of EU Member States as well as international and regional courts and/or organisations or NGOs.
Careers support
When it comes to securing a graduate-level position, we enjoy extremely good relations with members of the legal profession regionally, nationally and internationally. You will be supported by an Employability Officer, the wide range of services offered by Career Zone and have the opportunity to meet potential employers face-to-face through our annual Law Fair, workshops and careers sessions.
The majority of students are based at our Streatham Campus in Exeter. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the country and offers a unique environment in which to study, with lakes, parkland, woodland and gardens as well as modern and historical buildings.
Located on the eastern edge of the city centre, St Luke's is home to Sport and Health Sciences, the Medical School, the Academy of Nursing, the Department of Allied Health Professions, and PGCE students.
Our Penryn Campus is located near Falmouth in Cornwall. It is consistently ranked highly for satisfaction: students report having a highly personal experience that is intellectually stretching but great fun, providing plenty of opportunities to quickly get to know everyone.
