ID543 LEGAL RIGHTS&RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRACTISING DESIGNERS

Course Code:1250543
METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week):3 (3.00 - 0.00)
ECTS Credit:8.0
Department:Industrial Design
Language of Instruction:English
Level of Study:Graduate
Course Coordinator:Assoc.Prof.Dr. FATMA KORKUT
Offered Semester:Fall Semesters.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course the students will:

  • develop an awareness of the local professional context of industrial design,
  • understand the basic concepts relating to intellectual property rights, unfair competition, consumer protection, product safety and product liability,
  • comprehend the basic national legal framework concerning copyrights, inventions and utility models, trademarks, and industrial designs,
  • develop an understanding of the national design protection system in terms of legal procedures and processes involved,
  • develop an awareness of the nature of assessment of novelty and distinctive character in design protection cases,
  • show concern for professional and ethical responsibilities of designers in professional practice,
  • understand the professional and ethical responsibilities of designers in reference to code of professional ethics

Course Content

Covers professional rights, responsibilities and obligations of designers practicing at national or international levels. Reviews the basics of the national regulations concerning patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, copyright, unfair competition, and consumer protection. Puts special emphasis on industrial design registration in Turkey. Provides an international overview of the standarts, environmental regulations, and product liability issues.


Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course the students will be able to:

  • recognize opportunities to obtain intellectual property rights and review alternative strategies for managing IP rights,
  • engage with national design protection law, conduct a basic “design corpus” search, assess designs from the perspective of an informed user, reflect upon business implications of a potential court case for the parties and the sector involved, and draft an assessment report,
  • inspect products, identify potential hazards and prevention methods, and draft an actionable report,
  • critique products in reference to code of professional ethics, and draft a reflection paper

Program Outcomes Matrix

Level of Contribution
#Program Outcomes0123
1Identifying research areas in distinct and contemporary topics and formulating research problems;
2Being competent in the research process, process planning, managing, analyzing data, and correctly interpreting findings;
3Transforming knowledge in the field and research results into strategies, politics, methods and/or decisions;
4Transferring research findings into design education and practice;
5Disseminating generated knowledge, making publications and presenting them;
6Having general knowledge in the field of design, having covered the literature and developing expertise in specific topics;
7Having responsibility towards own research, respecting and practicing research ethics;
8Having work discipline and skills in time planning;
9Having skills in oral, written and visual communication;
10Open to continuous education and self-development, having high professional motivation;
11Open and willing to share knowledge and skills with stakeholders;
12Being critical, able to make self-criticism, reflecting objective and unprejudiced thinking into their own work;
13Synthesising knowledge from different disciplines to use in one?s own field and using it for generating new knowledge.

0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution