Undergraduate & honours qualifications

Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Management

Qualification code: 90172
NQF level: 8
Total credits: 120
SAQA ID: 109282
APS/AS: 60
Purpose statement:
The discipline of intellectual property law and management is experiencing strong growth in information collection and the development of specialisation streams internationally. The Postgraduate Diploma will provide a foundational understanding of intellectual property law and management, which integrates perspectives and skills from several disciplines including business, management, law, and innovation. The emphasis, besides additional advanced specialised knowledge and information will be on the practical application of already acquired knowledge related to asset protection, asset commercialisation, and asset management. A key objective of the Postgraduate Diploma (Intellectual Property Law and Management) is to establish a core of South African intellectual property law and management professionals (at a specialised level) who will serve the interests of all sectors of the economy and the community in South Africa. This Postgraduate Diploma is aimed at participants pursuing careers inter alia as IP managers, technology transfer agents, and public and private sector participants. The Postgraduate Diploma also lays a foundation for higher career advancement and further postgraduate studies in intellectual property law and management and technology transfer. The successful Postgraduate Diploma participant, building on all the acquired knowledge and skills obtained in the Postgraduate Diploma, will then have the competencies to apply his/her acquired intellectual property law and management knowledge and skills at an advanced specialised level. The Postgraduate Diploma (Intellectual Property Law and Management) is intensive in nature, because of the year duration of the Postgraduate Diploma and the composition of five intensive study modules in intellectual property law and management. Attractively, this Postgraduate Diploma will afford participants the opportunity to obtain a nationally and internationally recognised qualification in intellectual property law and management.
This qualification will be presented using both online and distance learning modes.

Who can register?

  • Applicants (new applicants & Unisa students who applied for admission to a new qualification) may only register if they have received an offer of placement from Unisa and have accepted the offer online. Unisa reserves the right to not process and / or to cancel your registration if it is found that you were incorrectly admitted to a qualification. 
  • Re-registering students may register for the 2024 academic year once the registration period opens.

Please note: Should you wish to start a new qualification, please apply online for the alternative qualification during the prescribed application period.


How to choose your modules

Each Unisa qualification is structured in such a way that you need to pass a certain number of NQF level credits within a certain amount of time in order to graduate.

  • Co-requisite: Module A is a co-requisite for Module B. You want to register for Module B, but have not yet passed Module A. You must then register for both Modules A and B simultaneously. You may NOT cancel your registration for Module A unless Module B is also cancelled.

  • Pre-requisite: If Module A is a pre-requisite for Module B, you must pass Module A before you may register for Module B.

You may not register for more than the allowed maximum number of credits / modules per academic year and / or semester: 60 credits per semester or 120 credits per academic year.

The maximum number of credits do not include supplementary and / or aegrotat examinations from a previous semester. Modules taken for non-degree / non-diploma purposes also count towards the maximum number of credits allowed.

You must take your available time into consideration when choosing your modules, as this will impact your academic performance. You need approximately

  • 6 to 8 hours per week for semester modules.
  • 4 to 6 hours per week for year modules.

Click here for more information on managing your studies.

Curriculum for this qualification

While you are deciding on the modules for which you will be registering, write down the module names and codes so that you have something to refer to when completing your registration.

Please click on the modules below to see further information (eg semester/year module, NQF level)

Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Compulsory.
IPM4802 - Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development
IPM4803 - Patent Management and the Role Patents in Innovation
IPM4804 - Intellectual Property Management Strategy and Commercialisation
IPM4805 - Strategy for Enforcement and Defence of Intellectual Property Rights
IPM4806 - Introduction to Intellectual Property Law and Management