IPRTA Forum Mexico 20089-11 July 2008, Sheraton Centro Historico Hotel, Mexico City

Intellectual Property Teaching, Networking and Curriculum Development:

The Role of the University in Promoting a Knowledge-Based Economy:

Dr Gail E. Evans Centre for Commercial Law Studies Queen Mary University of London

<gaileevans.com>

Structure of presentation

• Significance of TRIPS to the teaching of IP• IP teaching prior to TRIPS • TRIPS: defining moment for IP curriculum development• Changes in IP program at QMUL as an example of curriculum

change• How the teaching of IP at QMUL has changed?• Specialized postgraduate research degrees • An emerging model of curriculum development for intellectual

property• The University: The hub of IP education and training• Ways of overcoming financial and resource constraints to IP

education • Networks of universities and IP teachers.

TRIPS: Defining Moment for Curriculum Development

• Why? TRIPS has mandatory and enforceable standards of intellectual property protection. When the TRIPS Agreement was concluded in 1994 IP became the subject of international regulation.

• Consider the impact on the IP teaching by contrasting the IP curriculum pre- and post TRIPS.

IP Teaching Model Prior to TRIPS

• Characteristic of undergraduate programmes: IP survey (introductory) course was offered to students as an optional subject.

• LLM (IP): Postgraduate specialist coursework programmes in IP tend to be few.

• This was because the law school curriculum was driven by a national or locally centered legal profession and matching statutory requirements.

• The practice of IP law was seen as a secondary and specialist area of practice.

Impact of TRIPS on the IP Curriculum

• Post-TRIPS: IP law and policy is no longer a self–contained domain catering exclusively to a narrowly defined legal professional practice.

• The demands on the international IP system, the range of its constituents and interest groups and its potential to serve economic and social needs, show unprecedented levels of growth and change.

• The IP curriculum has evolved and expanded to meet the demands of an international system of intellectual property protection and innovation.

• As an illustration, let’s consider the postgraduate IP program at Queen Mary University of London.

How has the teaching of IP at QMUL changed?

We have expanded postgraduate offerings with greater scope and choice of subjects. LLM and Diploma courses are characterized by:

• Specialization for copyright, patents and trademark law• International and comparative perspectives• Linkages are intradisciplinary e.g. International

Economic Law; Information Technology Law• Linkages are also interdisciplinary e.g. IP and

economics; IP and political science.• Impact of TRIPs is evident: e.g. Legal Problems of

International Trade and Intellectual Property Law.

The Intellectual Property Programme: General LLM; Specialist LLM in intellectual property:

Course Group 2008-9:

1. Intellectual Property Law2. Intellectual Property Aspects of Medicine3. International and Comparative Law of Copyright & Related Rights4. International and Comparative Law of Patents, Trade Secrets And Related

Rights5. International and Comparative Law of Trade Marks, Designs and Unfair

Competition6. Media Law7. Intellectual Property and the Creative Industries.8. Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources9. Legal Problems of International Trade and Intellectual Property Law10.Global Policy & Economics Of Intellectual Property Law11.Computer Law 12.E-commerce Law 13. Internet Regulation14. Information Law15. Intellectual Property in the Digital Millennium16. IP Transactions

IP Prosecution and Management

For intending patent and trade mark attorneys, technology transfer officers and IP managers, QMUL offers:

• A Certificate in Intellectual Property Law (3 months)

• An MSc in IP Management: http://www.ccls.edu/courses/msc.html

Joint IP programs and customized professional training

• Summers school & institutes (e.g. QM/Tulane)

• Customized IP courses sponsored by: – EC: capacity building in Eastern Europe, e.g. 3 week course

in International and EU IP law for Turkish Trademark Examiners; TRIPS Training for EC Diplomats from developing countries.

– Law firms to provide the basics of IP to new graduates;– Private entities (e.g. Falconbury UK) for professionals from

various industries, from petroleum to retailing.

Postgraduate Research Degrees

• M/Phil/PhD degrees: at a time of the new international ordering of IP law it is important that the postgraduate curriculum continues to offer the opportunity for original research.

• The characteristics that mark curriculum development in postgraduate teaching are also evident in research:– Intradisciplinary thinking: IP and criminal law (anti-

counterfeiting); – Interdisciplinary thinking: e.g. IP and Economics; IP and

Political Science; IP and Human Rights Law.

Proposed: QM Postgraduate Diploma In IP Law & Policy (Dip. IPLP) by Distance Learning

• Proposed: to offer a range of courses designed to accommodate the needs of various ‘submarkets’ including the biotechnology, agricultural, entertainment, marketing and computer software sectors of industry including:– Intellectual Property and Banking– Intellectual Property, Traditional Cultural Expressions: – Intellectual Property and Agriculture – Technology Transfer and Development – Intellectual Property and the Digital Environment – Patents and the Pharmaceutical Sector.

An Emerging Curriculum Model?

• The Standard Curriculum was designed to assist students to attain competence as “professional generalists.” It would also include a segment of intensive instruction to ensure deeper penetration of professional training, including clinical education.

• Advanced Curriculum for those seeking specialisation through university study

• Open Curriculum for persons wishing to learn about law without seeking professional qualification.

– (Committee of the Association of American Law Schools, Carrington Report,1971).

Implications for Capacity Building: Envision the University as a Hub of IP Education

Consider the role of the IP Professor/Academic:• As a scholar, able to lend perspective to past and future intellectual

property development of IP law; • Able to design an IP curriculum, construct specialized or customized

courses for professionals from various fields who need specialized knowledge of the intellectual property system;

• Able to spearhead and contribute to outreach programs in developing and transitional economies;

• As consultants to government, IGOs and NGOs, able to provide advice on new IP law and policy and its implementation.

• Able to coordinate the construction of university networks such as EIPIN or the ASEAN IP Teachers network;

Problem? Modernizing the University IP Curriculum

• IP education is particularly important for countries where the law and legal system has recently been revised to bring it into line with TRIPS standards.

• The maintenance and the management of IP assets requires knowledge of IP protection. In those countries where the IP legal system has recently been reinforced, this part of human resource development is relatively weak.

Challenge: Human Resource Development for an IP-Aware Community

• The challenge is to ensure that skilled human resources will be able to actively use the IP system, manage IP assets and engage in the licensing of IP for economic development.

• Human resource development should serve the different needs of those involved in the IP value chain: whether researchers, engineers and business managers.

• Officials of customs offices, police and law enforcement authorities, as well as judges in the judicial system, also have to keep up with the dynamic evolution of IP law and practice.

• In short, new objectives emerging from the redefined role of IP need to be reflected in the development of human resources, and as such, the IP curriculum needs to be also revised.

Strategies for Overcoming Financial & Resource Constraints

• If IP education is to be expanded in developing countries, the means must be found for overcoming financial and resource constraints. Some suggestions follow:

• Industry partnerships: Develop strategies and policies with a view to creating strategic partnerships with industry. E.g. in 2004, Philips Electronics (Netherlands) concluded an agreement to financially assist the People’s University of China in an effort to enhance the level of awareness and national capacity with regard to IP education and human resources development in China.

• Finding IP Faculty: Legal practitioners, judges, examiners from IP Offices, can help boost resources by contributing to teaching with practical legal skills.

• Exchange programs of lecturers giving intensive courses on IP for limited period of time (for example, from one to three weeks), with a view to supplementing and assisting universities which have difficulties in engaging sufficient numbers of lecturers.

WIPO: Distance Learning Program & Curriculum Design

• To overcome financial and human resource constraints, one possible solution is to use distance learning modules made available on the Internet. Assuming the necessary IT infrastructure is available, a distance learning program is particularly useful for training large numbers of students in a limited time period with minimal costs of operation.

• The WIPO Academy has a distance learning program that in 2003 trained over 10,000 students in seven different languages.

• In addition the WIPO Academy can offer advice or the provision of tools to universities, such as assistance in developing a meaningful curriculum, and identifying selected reference and other materials for IP teaching.

IP Networks

• Given that curriculum design, IP teaching and professional training are common goals for many universities, local or regional networks of universities are a practical means of exchanging useful knowledge, expertise and resources.

• Networking can begin with an annual meeting and can be expanded to strategic partnerships for specific goals such as the exchange of lecturers.

• WIPO stands by to assist members in creating networks of like-minded universities and educational institutions, not only in the region concerned, but also facilitating international cooperation between regional networks of universities.

Networking example: ATRIP

• ATRIP: The International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property, created in 1981, has over 300 members. ATRIP has an annual conference to exchange views on pedagogic aspects of IP as well as the organization and management of IP courses: see http://www.ip.mpg.de/go/atrip/

Networking example: The ASEAN-IP Teachers’ Network

• Report of the ECAPII/AUN regional conference on IP education and Networking, 28-30 MAY 2007, Bangkok http://www.aun-sec.org/download/feb/ecapii-report-may.pdf

• Handbook on IP Curricula and Teaching Materials http://www.aun-sec.org/download/curriculum_handbook._w-ecap_footer.pdf