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 (27 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: 8,500 euros (€4,250 per semester).
Scholarships: full and partial tuition waivers.
Number of students per year: around 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, electronic commerce, artificial intelligence, 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.

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.

Quite a few LIPIT students choose to remain enrolled for an additional third semester in order to complete their master’s thesis. During this time, some undertake internships or spend a semester abroad at a partner university through the Erasmus exchange program. No tuition fee is charged for the additional semester.

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:

Introduction to Intellectual Property Law
Introduction to 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
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

In addition to courses and research, LIPIT students have the opportunity to participate in several conferences in Germany and abroad, for example the Cyberspace Conference in the Czech Republic, IRIS in Austria, and CPDP in Belgium. LIPIT is also a co-organizer of the annual Summer School on Data Economy Law in Austria, which welcomes students from various European partner universities as well as external participants. Some LIPIT students also successfully take part in practical activities such as moot courts and hackathons, including the ReMeP Hackathon and the Data Protection Moot Court (DPMC).


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 instruction and guidance from prominent professors and other experts, Göttingen students benefit from access to first-class study facilities, such as the Göttingen State and University Library (SUB), one of the largest libraries in Germany, housing around 8 million items and providing access to numerous legal and other scholarly databases. For students specializing in IP and IT law, the library offers one of the most extensive collections of English-language resources on these subjects in Germany.

Göttingen Law Faculty 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.

Regulations

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