Summer Study Abroad

Study European and Comparative Intellectual Property Law in Milan, Italy

A European and Transatlantic Approach
EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE — TRANSATLANTIC SUMMER ACADEMY 2007 AT BOCCONI UNIVERSITY

The European Patent Office (“EPO”) Summer Academy is organized jointly by the EPO, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. (Bocconi University, State University of Milan, Polytechnic Universities of Milan and  Turin, University of Calabria), University of St.Gallen, Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, and the Bocconi University.

25 June — 13 July 2007 
Bocconi University in Milan, Italy
The program includes 15 class days (including field trips), Monday-Friday for three consecutive weeks.  Each class day includes two sessions of approximately 2 1/2 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Approximately 50 students will participate. Participants must have:
– A Graduate Degree in Law, Economics, or Engineering, or
– An Undergraduate Degree in Law (subject to a selection procedure)
– Case Western Reserve University law students
TO APPLY, contact: Professor Craig A. Nard at 216-368-6348 or craig.nard@case.edu

The Summer Academy is a residential program that includes:
 — 70 hours of classroom and related instruction
 — Visits to IP operators
 — Accommodation and half-board (i.e., room and breakfast and lunch OR dinner)
 — Printed and online teaching material to each course participant.
In addition, for the period of the Summer Academy, participants will have full access to all Bocconi facilities (Library, electronic resources and all premises)

Fees
2,400 Euros/participant (approximately $3,160)
 
 Half-board accommodation: Euro 1503 (room and breakfast and lunch OR dinner)
 Course enrollment: Euro 897
 —————————————————————————
 Total = 2,400 Euros or approximately $ 3,160

An optional daily recreational program is available in advance to participants, including
 — Invitations to cultural activities
 — Free of charge social activities and activities at limited costs

In addition, a Course participants’ E-Helpdesk and a tutorship phone desk will be set up from May 1, 2007 until one week after the end of the course and will provide advice and guidance for inquiries relating to travel opportunities, early arrival and extended stay.

Language
The course is in English only. (General assistance to students is offered in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.)

Objective
The course objective is to provide interdisciplinary high-level teaching in IP with added value in each of the following fields:

— European and International IP Law
— European and International IP Economics
— European and International IP as a tool for Researchers
— European and International IP Business operational models

The principal focus of the course will be on European patent law and policy from a comparative perspective, including the United States and other member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). .

Upon completion of the program, each participant should be fully familiar (at undergraduate to graduate level) with the following:

— The importance of IP and in particular patents for business operators, research centers and the European and transatlantic economy in general
— The legal and practical functioning and prospects of the patent system and of IPRs, with focus on Europe and international issues

In addition, the objective of the Program is to initiate to constitute the first group of the Young Summer Academy Alumni Friendship Network, a group of IP conscious young Professionals who could ultimately advocate (even critically whenever appropriate) for the importance of IP in Europe and at international level.

Teaching methodology
For all lessons, a participatory and interactive teaching approach will be used, involving business case examples and studies, practical exercises and direct contact opportunities with IP operators and companies in a dynamic, horizontal and open work environment. In addition, free tutor assistance will be available to participants, in order to ensure cohesion between the participants.

Course Outline
MODULE 1: PATENTS AS A TOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS (7.5 class days)

Day 1
Course Introduction: IP at the International Level: Europe and Beyond

Session 1
- Opening Ceremony
- Introduction to Bocconi University and to the working methods of the EPO Summer Academy
- Introduction to IP
The European and American IP landscape: the strategic role of patents and IP protection for competitiveness

Session 2
Norm-setting at national, EU and international levels: patenting in Europe and in the world
- The origins and policies for patent protection; existing laws, systems of laws, treaties and registration systems, including their strengths and weaknesses and their legal and economic effects

Day 2
The EPO System and Other International Patent Systems

Session 1
- The EPO system in the EU legal environment
- The EPO System vs. the US system: common points and differences

Session 2
- The EPO System (detailed presentation) and the European national patent systems
- The other regional systems in brief (ARIPO, OAPI, Eurasian systems, the draft Community Patent)
- The Patent Cooperation Treaty

Day 3
Protecting Innovation for Promoting Competitiveness: The Leading Role of Patents

Session 1
Patent economics
- Theoretical and empirical study of patent economics

Session 2 
- Patent data as economic indicators and innovation indicators: how to interpret patent statistics in Europe, in the USA and in OECD countries in general                        
- merits and limits of patent indicators to measure innovation
- patent use for competitive intelligence

Day 4
Protecting Innovation for Promoting Competitiveness: Weighing the Role of Patents

Session 1
- Patent Statistics as a tool for Policy Decision Making; ststistics on inventors and applications of the reticular approach

Session 2
- Quotation use for valuation of quality and value of patents; scientific literature quotations and science and technology links
- Academic patenting in Europe and in the USA: from University to the market place

Day 5
The New Boundaries of Patents

Session 1
- Patents versus copyright: software patents      
- Business method patents: the US approach and the European approach

Session 2
- Roundtable discussion with software industry representatives 
-  Do patents impede science: the research exemption
- The limits of the patent system and alternative solutions for the protection of knowledge

Day 6 
International Patent Protection from the Operational Side

Session 1 
-  How to write, obtain and defend a patent: the international practitioner’s approach (Including Claim Drafting)

Session 2
- Visit to a European Patent Agent / Company visit

Day 7 (am) 
Processing and Administering Patents in Europe

Session 1
-The European patent granting procedure: filing a European patent application and entry of an international application into the European phase; the administration of European applications at national offices: the Italian and French Experiences (UIBM and INPI: Italian and French National Patent Offices)
- Certificates Granting ( for participants to module 1 only)

MODULE 2: BETTER EXPLOITING PATENT OPPORTUNITIES AND BETTER DEFENDING THEM (7.5 class days)

Day 7 (pm) 
Better Patents: Maximizing the Use of Patent Tools

Session 2 
What any IP Professional (Lawyer, Economist, Engineer/Scientist, TTO specialist) should know about:
- Management of patent documentation and classification in the “Trilateral “(Europe/USA/ Japan)
- Patent information for science and industry
- Search & Documentation Working Methods; Search tools and strategies

Day 8 
Maximizing the Use of Patent Tools (con’t)

Session 1 
What any IP Professional (lawyer, Economist, Engineer/Scientist), TTO specialist should know about:
- Patent mapping
- Quality control regarding the patent granting procedure

Session 2
- Study visit to a major pharmaceutical research center

Day 9
Expanding IP Protection

Session 1 
- Patenting in complex technological fields (e.g. raising ethical issues) : Biotechnology (European and US approaches)

Session 2
- Beyond patents: general overview of relevant trademarks, industrial design, geographical indications and rules of origin issues
- Study visit to the Fashion National Chamber and a design studio followed by a reception

Day 10 
Fully Exploiting Patents: Licensing

Session 1
- The patent licensing contract (drafting rules + practical exercise )

Session 2
- New licensing models: the non-proprietary models: Economic and Legal aspects
- Licenses and technological standards                      

Day 11 
Participants attend the EPO-Bocconi International Workshop on Industry and Innovation Management (free of charge attendance for the Summer School participants). Key European IP companies to present over two days IP challenges and opportunities in the European business environment; subjects include:

-Tech transfer & licensing
-Licensing-in, licensing-out, contract terms, negotiations, university-industry relationships, spin-outs
-IP Portfolio management
-Patent strategies; application strategies; what to licence-out or -in; renew or lapse? Patent "thickets", combining patents with other IP
-IP valuation
-Importance of patent valuation; difficulties in valuation; current valuation tools available.
-Raising finance for new inventions
-Sources of funding, understanding what Venture Capitalists need, negotiating a fair deal, when to sell, exit strategies
-Creating a market for new technology
-How to place an innovation in the market, research customer perception, building market acceptance, marketing strategy

Day 12 
Participants attend the EPO- Bocconi International Workshop on Industry and Innovation Management (free of charge attendance for the Summer School participants).  Key European IP companies to present over two days IP challenges and opportunities in the European business environment; subjects include:

-IP in China & India from a Western prospective
     Opportunities and risks; recent changes in local attitudes to IP and enforcement
-Piracy & Counterfeiting in the EU
     Criminal enforcement of IP; EU regulations, working with Police, & Customs
     Officers (i.e. enforcement agencies), cross-border issues
-Patent litigation & enforcement in Europe
     ADR; mediation; defences; costs; uncertainty; differing jurisdictions; EPO
     Opposition & Appeals; patent "trolls"
-Building a brand in Europe
     Registered trade marks (OHIM & national), common law trade marks, goodwill and
     reputation, domain-names; grey & parallel goods (over-production); EU “exhaustion of
     rights” doctrine.
-Innovative design for market edge in Europe
     Design registration (OHIM and national); unregistered design; relationship with
     copyright (weak); combining good design into the innovation process

Day 13 
Towards a Closer University/Research Industry/Business Relationship

Session 1 
- Patent-related IP management for innovation advisors (TTO)
- Innovation Support and its modern applications
- Innovation Support Training Programs (ISTP): Roundtable discussion with TTO representatives on TTO best practices

Session 2
Being small and efficient:
- The use of patents by SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)                   
- Securing value on IP Rights

Day 14
EUROPEAN AND US APPROACHES FOR BETTER RESPECTING IPRs: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CASE STUDIES

Session 1 
Enforcement of intellectual property: enforcement mechanisms and practices at international level; practical case solutions in Europe, in the USA and in the world
- IPRs, private litigation practice: comparing Europe and the USA
- IPR arbitration practice in Europe and in the USA

Session 2
- Fighting counterfeiting in Europe; the EU and US norm-setting environment and its everyday life effectiveness; transatlantic co-operation projects; counterfeiting and piracy beyond customs issues and consumer protection?

Day 15 
Beyond Europe and the USA: The WTO Environment and Future Opportunities for a Better Use of IP

Session 1 
IP protection beyond national borders: trade-related agreements and intellectual property: multilateral vs. bilateral approach? The TRIPS Agreement, including Doha and post-Doha decisions; the IP-related decisions of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body  

Session 2
- Wrap-up session       
- Certificates Granting Ceremony

TO APPLY TO THE PROGRAM, or for more information, contact:
Professor Craig A. Nard at 216-368-6348 or craig.nard@case.edu