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Thursday May 02, 2013

USPTO’s Global Intellectual Property Academy Continues to Advance IP Awareness and Respect At Home and Abroad

Guest blog by Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs Shira Perlmutter

The USPTO’s Office of Policy and External Affairs (OPEA), through its Global Intellectual Property Academy (”Academy”), is pleased to produce some key metrics from the first and second quarters of FY 2013 that quantify the advancement of its mission to promote awareness of and respect for the intellectual property rights of American businesses. During these past two quarters, the Academy expanded its educational, technical assistance, and capacity-building on IP issues to audiences both in the U.S. and abroad. Academy programs were offered to patent, trademark and copyright officials in the U.S. and abroad, including judges and IP enforcement officials, to further understanding and respect for intellectual property rights.

The Academy conducted 15 programs during the first two quarters for U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises. For example, it participated in the USPTO’s Trademark Expo, which highlights the important role trademarks play in commerce and society. The Academy also organized seminars on a variety of topics, including “What Every Small Business Must Know about Intellectual Property,” and the problems of counterfeiting and piracy.

During the first two quarters, the Academy also conducted 44 training programs for 1,937 foreign officials. One particularly important program brought approximately 300 judges here from around the world to discuss IP awareness and enforcement in a historic conference of the International Association of Judges. The Academy focused on such topics as the use of specialized courts and addressing IP infringements in the digital environment.

For more information on our activities across the first two quarters of fiscal year 2013, I invite you to see all of our performance metrics, which are available on our Policy and External Affairs dashboard.

Posted at 07:12AM May 02, 2013 in ip | Comments[2]

Comments:

Are the materials presented at the Global IP Academy for 'expanding educational, technical assistance, and capacity-building on IP issues' available to the public?

Posted by Harris Brotman on June 17, 2013 at 04:26 PM EDT #

The Global IP Academy offers a wealth of materials to the public. We currently offer seven distance learning modules on all areas of intellectual property protection and enforcement, including: Patent Protection; Introduction to the Patent Cooperation Treaty; International Standards for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; Trade and Property Rights; Overview of Trademarks; Geographical Indications; and Copyright: Encouraging and Protecting Creativity. They are available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian and can be accessed any time, day or night, for no charge at the following site: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/training/elearn.jsp. The Academy also maintains a public database which contains information about and materials from past and upcoming programs. That database can be found at usipr.uspto.gov. In addition, there is an online Intellectual Property Training Module on the STOPfakes.gov website (www.stopfakes.gov). This tutorial covers all facets of intellectual property protection and enforcement and includes a simple intellectual property "needs assessment" tool. It was developed by the Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR)/International Trade Administration/U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, and the USPTO. The Academy works closely with the OIPR, which administers the STOPfakes.gov website, to identify and provide intellectual property educational materials for small business on the site. Aside from all of this information, many of the Academy’s in-person programs are open to the public. We often hold roadshows and other types of intellectual property awareness campaigns throughout the United States in an effort to bring our in-person training and assistance to those who may not be able to visit us here in Alexandria, Virginia. During those roadshows and campaigns, we build in time for one-on-one consultations so that we can answer questions that participants may not have had a chance to ask during the programs.

Posted by Janette Brown on June 20, 2013 at 10:22 AM EDT #