Book Review: Teaching of Intellectual Property - Principles and Methods

• Author: Larry Allman
• Position: WIPO

Intellectual property (IP) has become an increasingly critical tool for governments, industry and the private sector, and for various segments of the public. IP education needs are currently greater than ever, and are expanding daily in view of the pace of technological, social and commercial developments.

More IP professionals must be educated and trained. It is equally clear that their expertise in IP must be both broad, and at the same time, more specifically attuned to the practical, day to day realities, challenges and opportunities faced by businesses. In many countries, however, IP education is hindered not only by the insufficient number of trained teachers, but also by lack of guidance as to how best to teach IP.

A multi-disciplinary approach to IP education

To meet these challenges, WIPO approached a number of world renowned IP professors, and asked them to set out in concise chapters what is contained in the courses they teach, how they teach those courses, and what tips and insights they could share. The knowledge and expertise they offered is compiled in one moderately priced volume, designed for anyone wishing to enhance their IP teaching skills. The book, Teaching of Intellectual Property - Principles and Methods, combines theoretical applications with pragmatic expertise, and moves into new ground by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to IP education. As such, the value of this book is not limited to teachers, or future teachers, of IP, but is equally relevant to teachers and students of economics, business, science and technology.

The stand-alone chapters were written by the following experts:

* Teaching patents, by Joseph Straus, former director of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, and chair of the managing board of the Munich Intellectual Property Center.

* Teaching copyright and related rights, by Mihály Ficsor, a former Assistant Director General of WIPO who assisted in the conclusion of WIPO Internet Treaties.

* Teaching trademark law, by Jeremy Phillips, research director of the UK Intellectual Property Institute and visiting professor at University College London. (See also A Day in the Life of an IP Blog-meister in this edition of...