Many people do not understand what intellectual property rights mean, much less how they are used. This is at least partially due to the lack of intellectual property rights in the classroom. Few undergraduates learn about IP as part of their required or elective coursework. Teaching IP is usually approached from a legal perspective rather than from a business or entrepreneurial perspective. Consider case law.
IP strategy, on the other hand, is largely absent from university departments, such as engineering, business, art, and medicine, which are likely to generate new ideas. As a result, many creators do not realize that the intellectual property system can be used to capture the value of what they create. Along the way, you benefit yourself, your affiliation, and others.
To find out about the state of IP education, Bruce Berman interviewed two long-time college IP educators in episode 9, season 2 of his podcast Understanding IP Matters. They explore how intellectual property education has evolved, who is doing it, and the tensions between the business and legal aspects of intellectual property education.
Ruth Soetendorp has been teaching college students about intellectual property for over 30 years. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Bournemouth, UK, where she teaches Law and Business and is Deputy Director of the Center for IP Policy & Management at the School of Business.
James Conley is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors, a clinical professor of technology at Northwestern University, and a faculty member at both the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering.
main answer
There is this hostility to intellectual property rights, not only among creators, but also among ordinary people. What do you think is to blame?
Ruth Sutendorp: “I believe my animosity stems primarily from the fact that most people do not perceive intellectual property rights as something they can own without being represented by an intellectual property advisor. increase. [Intellectual property] bound by law. From my point of view, working with business students, not law students, there is an inherent aversion to, or fear of, the law. In order to make the intellectual property aspect more accessible, it needs to be clearly explained. ”
Lawyers need to study intellectual property law precisely because they practice. However, managers and creators need to learn how to use the IP system. What is your experience with that difference?
james conley: “When we train our art students, here I am not speaking from experience, I am just imagining based on what I know about similar programs here in the US. Be creative and do something different.The curriculum is focused on making them generative.What we are not doing is that they Teaching them how to acquire added value. I think we need to add a little bit about capturing value in education.”
Ruth sutendorp: “They also have to understand it, internalize it, integrate it in themselves. Its value is what they are interested in. You know, people who listen with curiosity. It is difficult to face a group of
Do you think there are more opportunities to teach IP law in other departments?
Ruth sutendorp: “I have seen it, but not as much as I would like…. It’s too late to tell other colleges that, what you’re getting more is people in law schools who teach intellectual property law, and they’re slowly discovering It is wanted and demanded.”
james conley: “I started in engineering school. Then I went to business school. Every university has its own governance challenges and context…. It turned out to be completely independent, so more experiments can be conducted here than in medical schools and all other schools controlled by the central government.
We went to places with better funding so we could experiment more. Now, let’s use this flexibility to do something for medical school. Let’s do something for the engineering department. Let’s do something together with the Faculty of Law. I had to find a great partner. In my case, it was Clinton Francis, a prominent Northwestern University law professor.
He said, James, we’re going to do this together. We will consider how to formulate this topic — case law, doctrinal interpretation, but also practical use. How will this make us stronger in negotiations? How will this make us stronger in extending our advantage to entirely new market opportunities?
That part I did with my lawyers, but I had to translate it into the language of the doctors, the language of all the PhD students at the university where I teach, the language of the engineers… Once that translation was completed, the course took on a life of its own. ”
Other highlights
Listen to the full episode and learn:
- Strategies they use to make intellectual property relevant and interesting to young people
- Intellectual Property, Esteem, and Agency Relationships
- And what is in their IP course syllabus?
“The key to all intellectual property is to do something with the information.” — Ruth Sutendorp
“In America, getting into college costs a lot of money. The owner of something that makes a difference on the level.” — James Conley
