The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Academy and has jointly organised the first-ever WIPO-IPOPHL Summer School on Intellectual Property (IP).
As reported, it aims to provide local and international individuals who are interested in IP and other IP-related matters with a brief but intensive education program.
This is the first time it will be held in the Philippines. The 10-day course is scheduled from 2 – 13 September 2019.
About the Summer School
The Summer School is regularly organised by WIPO Academy in partnership with universities or IP offices in developing and least-developed countries.
The Academy is a core unit at the WIPO and serves as a centre of IP training.
It is also a catalyst in expanding the range and impact of training opportunities worldwide as well as a hub of a virtual network of partners, experts, and teachers in development-oriented IP training.
Worldwide participation in the Summer School has been increasing over the years, with that in 2018 alone seeing a 48% year-on-year growth.
It provides an opportunity for individuals to acquire deeper knowledge in IP and perceive it as a key tool for economic, social, cultural, and technological development.
Participants learn from well-known local and international experts of the IP world.
They are given the opportunity to go through simulation exercises, case studies, and group discussions on selected IP and IP-related topics that are particularly relevant to the present times.
The IPOPHL finds the program as a needed response to the rapid global and local innovation-driven changes in various sectors, particularly science and business.
Significance of Intellectual Property
IPOPHL Director-General Jospehine R. Santiago explained that IP is a key tool that leads to economic, scientific, social, and cultural development as it adds value to products, solutions, services, or innovations.
The increasing demand for IP creation, protection, utilisation, and commercialisation, coupled with the growing complexities of various technological innovations around the world, makes the Summer School a necessity.
For the legal sector, its services are vital to the growing number of businesses that seek advice on implementing an effective IP protection strategy.
This can be addressed by the practical IP management practices that the Summer School aims to introduce.
A session is allotted to familiarise participants with the common online infringing acts and abuses of marks.
Lecturers will offer ways to prevent IP stakeholders from becoming victims to these criminal practices. They will also teach the possible course of actions to be done if IP rights are violated.
The IP needs of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) will also have special focus during the IP Entrepreneurship and MSME session.
MSMEs will learn to leverage the IP system while striving to gain market share and in accessing markets.
Meanwhile, researchers will benefit from discussions on Technology Transfer and Licensing, and a simulation on licensing negotiations.
Activities like these help budding inventors learn how to succeed in seeing their inventions launched into the market.
Benefits of IP
The primary purpose of an IP system is to make every inventor’s dream happen: to see their hard work yield additional value by way of commercialisation.
Commercialisation offers economic gains to inventors.
Add to that how consumer welfare gains from these inventions, particularly if they prove to be practical and effective in solving real-life issues.
It may also provide convenience and ease to one’s daily grind.
Having an effective and aggressive utilisation of the IP system will serve as a catalyst to an innovative and creative nation.