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School of Law

BLACA Bursary Award

J.A.L. Sterling Postgraduate Bursary Award, supported by The British Literary and Artistic Copyright Association & The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, in cooperation with The Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London and The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London

  • Course: Intellectual Property LLM
  • Number: one or more
  • Value: Up to £6,000 towards tuition fees
  • Home and overseas students
  • Deadline: midnight BST 31 July 2023 

blaca and stationers company logosThe British Literary & Artistic Copyright Association, BLACA, is the UK national group of the International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI) founded in Paris in 1878 under the Presidency of Victor Hugo. It provides a British forum for the examination of matters affecting authors’ rights and neighbouring rights.

The full designation of the Stationers' Company is The City of London Livery Company for the Communication and Content Industries. Through its Charitable Foundation the Company supports selected postgraduate courses that are related to a range of trades from paper, print, publishing, packaging, office products, newspapers, broadcasting and online media.

The BLACA-Stationers' Company Professor Sterling postgraduate bursary award scheme is designed in line with the institutional aims and objectives of the two awarding organisations. It aims to benefit candidates in the relevant cohort who can show commitment to developing professional and transferrable skills in the content industries.

Eligibility and Nature of Award

The award consists of one or more bursaries from a BLACA/Stationers' Foundation fund of up to £6,000 payable as a contribution towards the tuition fees of the successful applicant(s). The award is only eligible in the following cases:

  • the successful student will enrolled during the academic year 2023 – 2024 (we will consider exceptional cases for the year 2024-2025);
  • the bursary is only available for students enrolled for the LLM in Intellectual Property Law, at Queen Mary University of London OR LLM in Intellectual Property and Information Law at King’s College London OR Postgraduate Diploma/MA in UK, EU and US Copyright Law at King’s College London;
  • students must take the requisite minimum number of credits in specified modules as set out in Schedule A below. 

The award is only eligible to the above students - no other type of programme will be considered. Payment will occur upon confirmation from QMUL or KCL that the student has elected to read the requisite minimum of credits in the specified modules.

What are bursary winners required to do?

As a Bursary award holder, the student will be an automatic member of BLACA for a year. We also expect the student to be a rapporteur at BLACA meetings which are held bi-monthly. Students will also be part of the Bursary mentor scheme where a senior member of the legal profession will be available for discussions and advice on current issues in copyright law. The Award recipient will be announced over BLACA’s social media. We hope that students will also take part in our post-award interview which we make available for future applicants.

See interviews with the past holders of the award

Criteria and application procedure

The following criteria will be taken into consideration: academic merit, financial need and the quality of the application. Short-listed candidates will be required to provide documentary evidence to substantiate their financial needs and to give information about other sources that will support their participation in the chosen course.

Applicants should submit their Curriculum Vitae and a short Statement of Motivation (maximum 1000 words) by email to:

Mr Simon Clark
BLACA Secretary
BLACA / Stationers' Company Postgraduate Bursary Scheme
simon.clark@bristows.com

Application deadline: midnight BST 31 July 2023

Interview

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for interview in August 2023.

Interviews may be conducted remotely or in person in London. The interview panel will include a member of the Stationers’ Company, two members of the BLACA Executive Committee and a senior academic from each of the Schools of Law of Queen Mary and KCL. 

Offer and acceptance

It is open to BLACA and The Stationers Company to offer bursary awards of equal or unequal amounts and there is no obligation on BLACA and The Stationers’ Company to make any award in the absence of suitable candidates. Offers will be made within 14 days of interview and will be deemed to have been refused if not accepted within a further 14 days.

Schedule A: Choice of subjects

Queen Mary University of London

Students must take a minimum of 60 credits in the copyright-related modules listed below if taking the LLM in Intellectual Property Law:

LLM Taught Modules

  • International and Comparative Copyright Law (30 credits)
  • Digital Intellectual Property (15 credits)
  • Interactive Entertainment Law (30 credits)
  • Music Industry Contracts (15 credits)
  • Intellectual Property and the Creative Industries (30 credits)
  • Dissertation (elective and on an agreed copyright topic) (30 credits)

King’s College London

Students will need to take a minimum of 60 credits on the LLM in Intellectual Property and Information Law in copyright related modules as stated below (N.B. Students enrolled on the Postgraduate Diploma in UK, EU and US Copyright Law will satisfy the minimum number of credits required.)

  • International and Comparative Copyright Law (30 credits)
  • Copyright and the Music Industry in the Digital Era (15 credits)
  • Commercialisation of IP (15 credits)
  • Dissertation (on a copyright law focussed topic) (40 credits)
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