NSCPHD1107 How to benefit from scientific discoveries: Introduction to Intellectual property (IP) rights from the perspective of management and strategy

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How to make a commercial success of your PhD project? You may have a great new idea for a new product, a new compound, a new app, a new concept, a new method, but what to do? What is the next step? How to figure out how much you can tell others? There are at least two things to consider: Firstly, you need to get a clear idea of whether the new idea you have in mind have already been thought about by others, is it protected by any type of IP right or has it been taken into use by others, the answers to these initial questions influence the barriers and opportunities as to how to pursue your idea. Secondly, you need to determine whether you should apply for any IP rights to help you shield your invention, it being patents, utility models, design rights, trademarks and copyrights, or would you benefit from keeping it as a trade secret? And what to do contract wise, when to use non-disclosure agreements, should you be concerned with signing non-competition clauses, and in research collaborations what are the pitfalls to watch out for? Questions are many when approaching IP as an individual, university, research organization or firm and might seem complex and non-transparent. However, the reality is that in few days, attending this course will prepare you to engage in decision making concerning IP, by having a basic, yet sound understanding of the IP “battlefield” that many scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and firms face.

This course is a basic IP course: different types of IP rights and contracts will be introduced by using concepts and theories, case studies, exercises, workshops, and negotiation plays. PhD students will also be using the learned IPR lens to find new perspectives on their own work. In addition participants will work in groups on solving small IP essays during the course, giving in-depth knowledge of how to search for and understand the opportunities and limits of the different types of IP. This is an applied course in which the concepts and theories will be analyzed and explained through concrete examples and cases. Thereby, you will learn various important aspects of how IP rights can enable or hamper benefiting from scientific discoveries. By understanding these different aspects and how they are linked together, you will increase your ability to navigate through this complex landscape and ultimately more successfully commercialize your idea or technology. In addition, external specialists will participate in the course, further ensuring a blend between theory and practice.