Training materials for teaching Patents, 'Patent Kit'
In 2008, the 8th edition of the following roving workshop was held at the SPTO headquarters: 'Introduction to Industrial Property in University Curricula'.
The workshop, organized by the European Patent Academy and the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), was aimed at vice-chancellors, deans and university professors, as well as others involved in the development of university curricula. Its objective was to highlight the importance of Industrial Property (IP) and its introduction into these curricula. At the end of the workshop, a plan was presented for integrating IP into the curricula of Spanish universities.
Based on the results of this workshop, the European Patent Academy , in cooperation with several national IP offices, launched a pan-European project that aims to:
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Increase awareness on the importance of IP among European universities.
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Create and expand a structure for teaching IP.
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Establish minimum standards for teaching IP in various faculties at the European level.
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Develop materials for the teaching of IP.
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Provide teacher training.
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Standardize IP teaching in Europe.
Subsequently, in November 2009, the following workshop took place and was organized by the European Patent Academy and the University of Alcalá de Henares with the collaboration of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO): 'Protect Your Ideas - Lecturing with the Patent Teaching Kit'. The workshop presented material produced in English by the European Patent Academy, specifically designed to help university professors teach Industrial Property, and in particular the patent system.
This material is now translated into Spanish for the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and contains PowerPoint presentations, information necessary for its understanding, examples and case studies.
It consists of two base modules:
- One for students in science, engineering, medicine, and business administration, including information on industrial property rights and the basics when applying for patents and using them as a source of information.
- One for law students, including information on industrial property rights, such as the commercialization of patents or infringements of patent rights.
And three sub modules:
- Patent search, how to use the esp@cenet database.
- Interpretation of claims.
- The use of patents by universities and related companies.
The educational material in Spanish is available for free at the SPTO website in the section: 'Education and Training in Intellectual Property: Knowledge Dissemination of Intellectual Property in Spanish Universities'.
