Teaching and Research
The Academy seeks to serve as an institution of excellence in the teaching of intellectual property. The rationale, constituents and teaching methods are evaluated below.
Teaching of Intellectual Property - Why? Who? How?
Why Teach Intellectual Property?
Within the last decade, Intellectual Property (IP) has gained a greater prominence in international commercial relations between countries. IP has been on the radar screen of international relations since the later 19th century. Its growing importance prompted the creation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1970. The WIPO, which became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1974, currently administers 23 IP treaties. Due to its ever growing importance it is therefore increasingly recognized that IP should be taught in institutions of higher learning. There are several key reasons.
First, the national economies around the world, and indeed the global economy, is moving in the direction of "knowledge-intensive economies". This means that the goods and services produced and traded within and between countries is increasingly the product of intellectual capital and no longer dependent on traditional factors of productivity such as land and labor.
Secondly, the trade in knowledge-intensive products has increased dramatically. It is for this reason that international efforts to promote and protect IP have expanded beyond the WIPO and have become part of the global trade agenda. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement), administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO), places an obligation upon WTO member States to implement proper IP protection systems. While the protection of IP pre-dates the 1994 TRIPS Agreement by over a century, the TRIPS Agreement helped to further catapult IP into the international spotlight.
Thirdly, the scope of persons becoming aware of the impact and importance of IP is increasing. Among these are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), research and development institutions (R&D) and indigenous communities. SMEs form the backbone of many economies. SMEs regularly use and create a great deal of IP and should systematically consider the steps required for protecting, managing and enforcing it, so as to get the best possible commercial results from its ownership. R&D institutions also seek to gain from IP protection. The possession of IP rights is an asset by itself, which can be sold, traded or licensed for benefit. Research institutions are seeking to protect their scientific advances as they themselves can benefit financially from them. Indigenous knowledge or traditional knowledge (TK) is now recognized as a country's wealth. Demands from indigenous communities for recognition of their IP heritage and for the sharing of benefits derived therefrom are well-known. The WIPO has spearheaded attempts to find ways of adapting existing IP laws to the protection of the IP of holders of TK.
Finally, there has been an enlargement in the scope of subject matters within the ambit of IP. The scope of subject matters falling within the ambit of IP has increased significantly. The revolution in information communications technology (ICT) and the developmental priorities of many countries in the world have spurred reactive and proactive responses, which place IP at the heart of national and international commerce and politics.
(i) Electronic Commerce. The emergence of on-line shopping or electronic commerce, has led to discussion on IP aspects of electronic commerce -copyrights, trademarks and protection of software.
(ii) Domain Names. Related to this, is the value of Internet domain names as trademarks and the problem of cyber-squatting. The latter problem has led the WIPO to establish an Arbitration and Mediation Center.
(iii) Patents and Access to Drugs and Health Care. Following the entry into force of the TRIPS Agreement in 1995, most countries and especially developing countries have been striving to comply with the mandatory nature terms of this Agreement.
(iv) Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore. The preservation, management and sustainable use of genetic resources and of associated traditional knowledge, as well as the sharing of the benefits that they offer, are headline news today. They are topics that occupy public debate in a wide range of sectors, including: food and agriculture; biological versity and environment; innovation and regulation in biotechnology; economic, social and cultural development; cultural policy and human rights.
Who Needs Training in IP?
In light of the preceding factors, the scope of the beneficiaries of IP teaching has expanded beyond the legal profession and law faculties. With the recognition of IP as an economic and cultural asset with high value and mobility, those in need of training in the field of IP has expanded accordingly. The increased scope of beneficiaries and consequent interdisciplinary nature of the task at hand is underscored by a brief look at the consecutive steps in the IP value chain. The first step consists of IP assets creation. This can be done either by importing technology from other countries, or by creating IP as a result of research or innovation at research institutes, universities or industry. As the second step, this chain includes the protection of IP. Some types of IP, such as patents, require registration at government authorities for the protection of legal rights. The third step is commercial exploitation of IP. This step involves, for instance, the implementation of a project to manufacture goods protected by IP rights, and licensing of IP if the owner of IP is not interested in making his own production. The last step is the maintenance and management of IP. Certain IP rights can infringe other rights or vice versa; these types of situations need to be reviewed to decide whether it is worthwhile maintaining such rights, as their maintenance may require additional resources. If IP continues to be used, it may need marketing of goods in which IP is embodied. Such marketing efforts and brand making need to be enhanced through the strategic use of certain types of IP, such as trademarks, geographical indications and industrial designs. This continuous chain will create sustainable economic development with an accumulation of national knowledge and the enhancement of technological capacity. An effective IP value chain needs not only proactive support from the government and civil society, as well as academia, but also the mindset of innovators, entrepreneurs, inventors, authors, and performers who are actual creators of IP assets.
Accordingly, human resource development should incorporate and serve the different needs of the different targeted groups who are involved in the IP value chain. In many countries, universities teaching IP are expected to take the lead in human resources development. For example, professors of IP should be able to provide pertinent advice to current policy makers, and to train future policy makers through IP education. In this regard, IP teaching requires interdisciplinary and diversified aspects of IP bearing in mind that IP assets need strong support from economic, cultural and trade policies. The developers who actually generate IP assets and manage them are researchers, engineers and business managers of private companies as well as authors, performers and designers. IP education should customize the way IP is taught to convey the appropriate information and message to those groups. The maintenance and the management of IP assets sometimes require a working knowledge of IP enforcement including litigation and infringement of IP rights. In those countries where the IP legal system has recently been reinforced, this part of human resource development is relatively weak. Officials of customs offices, police and law enforcement authorities, as well as judges in the judicial system, are expected to keep up with the dynamic evolution of IP law and practice.
How Should IP be Taught?
Many methods of teaching IP are available and should be chosen in accordance with objectives and target groups. Traditionally, IP, like many other academic courses in institutions of higher learning, was taught via face-to-face lecture - tutorial method. In recent times, the advent of information communication technologies (ICTs), has dramatically altered traditional methods and has led also to a new paradigm in teaching. ICTs allow for multi-sensory Internet-based distance learning.
The traditional method consists of attending lectures by an instructor in a classroom and following-up on this with tutorial sessions, either to clarify the lecture or to discuss issues more in depth in a structured environment. The lectures and tutorials allowed for vital synchronous learning through interaction between mentor and student, and between students themselves. Access to this method of learning, often determined by cost of tuition, requires that the student attend lectures and tutorials at a fixed location and a fixed time. The support materials consisted of class notes provided by the instructor, readings made available through "coursepacks" (collection of authorized photocopies of required readings) and textbooks in libraries. The advent of videotapes and video cassettes provided new tools for instruction.
Traditional distance learning by correspondence, which has been around since the mid-1800's, was also improved by the addition of these same tools. Institutions could mail to students not only structured workbooks of text-based reading material and case studies, but also tapes and video-cassettes, to vary the sensory perceptions in the learning process. The Open University of the United Kingdom, for example, has for a long time provided distance learning training using these varied tools. Telephone, TV and radio also provided outlets to expand the scope of content delivery and reach of universities.
The advent of ICTs and multi-media tools has not only positively enhanced traditional teaching methods, but it has also heralded a paradigm shift in the provision of instruction in institutions of higher learning. ICTs have enhanced traditional teaching methods by expanding the range of tools available, beyond the lecture-tutorial method. Academic institutions can disseminate information and services to students and the community at large (local, national and global) at a very low cost. In addition to providing students with lecture notes, case studies, bibliographies and so on through a university Intranet service restricted to its students, video and sound can also be transmitted to the students to further stimulate the student.
The major transformation has come in the area of distance learning. More precisely, it is the application of ICTs to distance learning that has caused the paradigm shift. In this context it has been observed that distance learning is the "new learning paradigm." For those who view education as the most important priority for the world's poorest countries, distance learning is perhaps the most significant teaching method for accomplishing a miraculous, "leapfrogging" transformation.
Constraints of time and location are no longer obstacles to acquiring an education. Financial burdens are also significantly reduced. Other obstacles may exist, but are much more easily overcome and at a far less financial cost. Internet-based learning in particular has practically revolutionized learning, combining synchronous and asynchronous learning techniques as new methods of delivering information emerge.
The distance learning program of the WIPO Worldwide Academy has proved particularly useful for training large numbers of students in a limited time period with minimal costs of operation. In fact, this is one of the new tools that the Academy has introduced, and it has successfully trained about 10,000 students in seven different languages during 2003 alone. Participants are not only students but also government officials, businessmen from the private sector and people in academia. Academy's distance learning program is open to anybody in the world, subject to the limited number of participants accepted in each session. To overcome difficulties facing universities in developing countries with limited financial and human resources, one possible solution is to use distance learning modules made available on the Internet. In addition to this direct service provided by the Academy, there are other Academy services offering 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.
Conclusion
IP teaching and education are now common goals for many universities, which share many similar problems. Cooperation among those universities is necessary. During the past few years, several universities have established strategic alliances (not only in the same country but also cross-border partnerships) leading to the exchange of lecturers and students, and the sharing of useful information. Some universities have agreed on the mutual recognition of degrees.
The Academy has accumulated vast experience and lessons learned in advising a number of universities throughout the world, and as a result of the first six years of its activities, the Academy has come up with a list of suggested approaches in respect to IP teaching. General advice of the Academy in this regard includes:
- Clear identification of target groups to whom IP will be taught;
- Clear definitions of goals and objectives in accordance with target groups;
- System designed courses on IP including the overall curriculum, taking into account the experience of other universities (particularly those which have similar target groups and objectives);
- Selection and acquisition of the right content and documents for IP teaching (the Academy offers a suggested list of teaching material and documents in appropriate languages);
- Customization of IP courses with the possibility of taking full advantage of information technologies and the Internet; and
- Partnerships with other universities (e.g. Lund, Turin, UNISA) and stakeholders, including practitioners and industry.
