Carlton Fields Intellectual Property Practice Group Chair William Giltinan was featured in Asia IP on the importance of intellectual property (IP) education.
The article addresses a movement in IP education; it should be taught at all levels, not only in law school, because it touches all industries.
“A discussion of intellectual property issues relating to ancient works is also helpful for history, archaeology and museum studies students. Sociology students can benefit from lectures on intellectual property relating to cultural patrimony,” stated Giltinan.
He added, “IP is a sophisticated and difficult subject. Whereas students should learn to appreciate and respect the value of IP beginning in pre-college years, the nuances of the subject are better learned initially in college, and in detail in graduate school.”
IP practitioners also acknowledge that there are countries where the concept of IP is not yet understood, and therefore instruction isn’t as strong as it could be.
“My recommendation for such countries would be to begin with in-depth discussions of the economic and social policies and risks of both protecting and failing to protect intellectual property. Once that foundation has been built, international treaties should be used as the basis for a detailed discussion of the various types of intellectual property. Throughout, the students should be challenged to understand how the choices made in the treaties impact the policy concerns discussed earlier in the course,” said Giltinan.
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