Course introduces users to a holistic approach to copyright, trademarks and design rights

Organisations that don’t take an all-inclusive approach to Intellectual Property run the risk of focusing too much on the IP that is most relevant to them, and not considering the broader IP that they could benefit from. As a result of this, PatSnap, the world’s leading provider of research and development (R&D) analytics, has launched a new five-part video course presented by Dr. Hayleigh Bosher, lecturer in Intellectual Property law at Brunel University London, on the key points that organisations should understand in order to take a holistic and strategically grounded approach to copyright, trademarks and design rights.

On top of her work with Brunel University, Dr. Bosher is a legal consultant and researcher, Book Review Editor for the specialist IP blog IPKat, Director of the Intellectual Property Awareness Network (IPAN), Deputy Editor of the European Trade Mark Reports, and founder of the World IP Women (WIPW) network.

The free five-part video series includes the following modules covering a range of IP-related topics:

- What is IP and why does it matter?

- How does copyright work?

- Examples of copyright in practice

- What are trademarks and how do they work?

- What are design rights and how are they used?

Dr. Bosher said that: “the risk of ignoring an organisation’s need to look at all of its IP holistically is two-fold. First of all, the company risks not utilising the full potential of its endeavour, when it could be benefitting, for example, from a design right or from a trademark, or from copyright – but it isn’t simply because it doesn’t know about it. If it’s not fully aware of all the different types of IP – what it can and can’t do within that area – it could accidentally infringe upon someone else’s IP. Knowledge is power – if an organisation understands what that IP right is, and what it needs to do within that field – it can protect itself properly.”

Duncan Clark, Head of Academy by PatSnap, added: “Intellectual Property is a key asset in an organization. But, due to educational curricula, most people do not have the chance to learn about IP until much later in their careers, when the need becomes urgent. This is astonishing, given the sheer value of IP as an asset. That’s why we’re delighted to add this course on copyright, trademarks and design rights, alongside our courses on trade secret and patents, to address this gap.” 

Academy by PatSnap was launched in October 2017 in order to empower innovators to learn how to protect and commercialise their ideas, and now has over 1,700 students and professionals registered on the platform.