FAU, NAI OFFER STUDENTS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CERTIFICATE; Florida Atlantic University (FAU), November 8, 2023

 Florida Atlantic University (FAU); FAU, NAI OFFER STUDENTS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CERTIFICATE

"Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and the National Academy of Inventors® (NAI) have announced the expansion of an intellectual property certificate for all undergraduate and graduate engineering students at FAU. The certificate program was launched this spring for senior engineering students at FAU, and to date, more than 700 have graduated with the certificate.

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind such as scientific inventions and creative works, with rights awarded to the inventor or author via patents, copyrights and trademarks.

Beginning this fall, the intellectual property certificate program was integrated into the freshman curriculum as well as the graduate curriculum in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Approximately 470 undergraduate and 180 graduate students at FAU enrolled in the program in the fall. The intellectual property certificate was developed by the NAI and adapted by the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Through this certificate program, students will gain a broad understanding of intellectual property, and is expected to spur innovation and entrepreneurship at FAU.

“There is nothing more powerful or valuable than a great idea coming to fruition,” said Hari Kalva, Ph.D., chair and a professor in FAU’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who was elected to the rank of NAI Fellow last year. “However, intellectual property is often not well understood or appreciated. This innovative approach to integrate the National Academy of Inventors’ certificate program in our curriculum will foster intellectual property literacy among our students, which is critical to their profession.”

Kalva is a named inventor on more than 25 standard essential patents used in virtually all video distribution and streaming products and services.

The NAI partnered with the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson 20MM Foundation) on this new opportunity for aspiring inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. The intellectual property course was developed by the Michelson Institute and teaches critical knowledge about America’s intellectual property system and how it works. By completing the course, FAU engineering students will acquire a foundation for a successful career in the most quintessential American tradition – innovation.

“We are excited to join forces with FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science to provide this critical intellectual property certificate program to all of their students to help take their creative minds to the next level of innovation,” said Jamie Renee, executive director of the NAI. “Intellectual property protection is imperative in the field of engineering and to prepare graduates as they design and develop products to solve real-world problems.” 

Students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science can take the course online at their own pace, which consists of 12 video modules and 38 lessons, each with a refresher quiz.

“Intellectual property is a key asset in many organizations today and employees who understand intellectual property are invaluable to companies and many other institutions,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Undergraduate students are not usually offered courses on intellectual property to any great depth, with the exception of those who study law. This innovative certificate program offered by the National Academy of Inventors will provide our students with the tools they need to be successful engineers and inventors for decades to come.” 

After completing the course, FAU students take a final exam. Upon successful completion, they receive an “Innovation Development Certificate” from the NAI.

“To be successful in their careers, engineering students need to hone their intellectual property skills and realize the incredible potential of their ideas and inventions,” said Paul R. Sanberg, FNAI, Ph.D., president and founder of the NAI, whose distinguished career has been instrumental in translating new pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutics to clinical trials and commercialization for Tourette syndrome, stroke, ALS, and Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. “Ideas are like property and need to be protected. Students at Florida Atlantic University who participate in the certificate program will learn about their rights as inventors and how to manage and ultimately monetize their work.”

The NAI is a member organization comprising universities from the United States and internationally as well as governmental and nonprofit research institutes, with more than 4,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 250 institutions worldwide. Founded in 2010, the academy recognizes and encourages inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhances the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourages the disclosure of intellectual property, educates and mentors innovative students, and translates the inventions of its members to benefit society.

“The College of Engineering and Computer Science’s leadership and experience delivering this new  curriculum will help us expand intellectual property education to the broader student body at FAU,” said Dana Vouglitois, associate director of technology development within FAU’s Division of Research. “Great partnerships with organizations like NAI help to make FAU’s goal of becoming a leading university for innovation and entrepreneurship a reality.""

Georgia State Hosts Deep-Dive Event on Intellectual Property and AI; Georgia State News Hub, October 26, 2023

Georgia State News Hub; Georgia State Hosts Deep-Dive Event on Intellectual Property and AI

"Experts from inside and outside Georgia State University gathered for “Protect Your Ideas: IP, AI and Entertainment,” a first-of-its-kind forum that gave students, faculty and staff a chance to share and learn about intellectual property and artificial intelligence with an eye toward entertainment. The Oct. 10 event was jointly sponsored by the university’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the College of Law and Popular Culture Collective.

“Atlanta is a national hub for creativity, commerce and research, so it makes sense that we at Georgia State strive to educate people about intellectual property,” said university President M. Brian Blake, who gave opening remarks at the event. “Understanding how to protect your ideas is critical, regardless of your field.”...

After remarks by leadership, Kenny Franklin, senior licensing associate with Georgia State’s Office of Technology Transfer & Commercialization, hosted a fireside chat with College of Law alum Scott Frank, president and CEO of AT&T Intellectual Property LLC and chair of the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance. The dialogue helped define intellectual property and reflected on its meaning in today’s knowledge economy.

“I tell people that intellectual property is like oxygen. It’s all around us and we don’t see it, but we wouldn’t survive without it,” Frank said."

What 70% of Americans Don’t Understand About Intellectual Property; Stites & Harbison, October 26, 2023

Mandy Wilson Decker, Stites & Harbison; What 70% of Americans Don’t Understand About Intellectual Property

"The United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA) recently published the results of its US Intellectual Property Awareness & Attitudes Survey. Among its findings, the survey results revealed that 70% of Americans are unable to distinguish between mechanisms – patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets – for protecting Intellectual Property (IP).

Given these results, it's worth exploring the principal mechanisms for protecting IP, which each possess some distinctive features."

Intellectual Property The Hard Way: Part II; Forbes, September 11, 2018

Mary Juetten, Forbes; Intellectual Property The Hard Way: Part II

"Last month I started an interview series on intellectual property (IP) and also wrote a piece about general IP tips for startups here.  The goal is to use actual stories and experts in the field to help others avoid IP mistakes or failures or infringement, and more importantly to ensure that companies of all sizes identify, protect, and monetize their valuable intangible assets. As has been discussed many times, these assets often make up 90% of a startup’s valuation."

Intellectual Property The Hard Way: Part I; Forbes, August 7, 2018

Mary Juetten, Forbes;

Intellectual Property The Hard Way: Part I

  

[Kip Currier: Cautionary real-world tale about the vital need for Intellectual Property literacy, and "consulting with a lawyer on a regular basis", as the author of this article--the first in a Forbes series of "IP Tales from the Crypt"-esque stories--encourages.]

"In the startup tips series, both the need for intellectual property (IP) protection and foundational protections, like employment and contract agreements were outlined. However, I would like to shift gears now and start a series of lessons learned or in some cases, IP horror stories. If you are interested in contributing please see below.

I spoke with New Orleans lawyer, Andrew Legrand of Spera Law about an interesting cautionary tale concerning an artist who had developed a logo for a small business about ten years prior and the business that paid for it but did not have the rights assigned.  In other words, you do not necessarily get what you pay for. There will be a theme in our stories where clients either do not know that they need to identify and protect their IP or they consciously decide that it’s not worth the time or money."

Every College Student's Dream: An 8 AM Class On Patents; Wired, January 20, 2018

David Kline, Wired; Every College Student's Dream: An 8 AM Class On Patents

[Kip Currier: Money quote from this Wired article making a very persuasive quantitative and qualitative argument for more Intellectual Property (IP) undergraduate courses--

 "...IP literacy is not just for lawyers anymore."

As a related aside: Reflecting an increasing student desire and need for IP education, two out of every three terms per academic year since 2009, I've been teaching an IP elective course to graduate students at Pitt's School of Information Sciences (now the School of Computing and Information). 

Additionally, in IP guest talks I've given for undergraduate students participating in Pitt's groundbreaking iSchool Inclusion Institute, it's been exciting to see first-hand many students' interest in augmenting their IP awareness...as well as more and more students creating and leveraging their own IP works!]

"Nor is there any doubt that IP plays a pivotal role in powering today’s knowledge economy, where intangible assets such as IP represent more than 80 percent of the market value of all publicly traded companies. Indeed, intellectual-property-intensive industries now account for a surprising 38.2 percent of total US GDP, according to a recent US Department of Commerce report. That’s more than $6 trillion a year, more than the GDP of any other nation except China. IP-based industries are also responsible for 30 percent, of national employment, or roughly 40 million jobs.

Yet despite IP's enormous role in the US economy, few universities offer any sort of course on IP to undergraduates. Among the first is the University of Southern California, which last fall launched a course on the basic workings of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. The new course, through the Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies within USC’s Marshall School of Business, aims to train tomorrow’s leaders in the skills they need to navigate our increasingly IP-driven economy...

Put another way, just as tech literacy was once a requirement only for IT specialists but is now considered almost as essential as verbal literacy, IP literacy is not just for lawyers anymore.

All of which calls to mind that scene from the 1967 movie The Graduate, when Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke) offers career advice to a young Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman)?

“Plastics!” he says. “There’s a great future in plastics.”

Half a century later, USC is demonstrating that intellectual property has become the new watchword for almost any career of the future."

How Did ‘Copyright Piracy’ Language Get Into ESSA, the K-12 Law?; EdWeek Market Brief, August 11, 2017

Sean Cavanagh, EDWeek Market Brief; How Did ‘Copyright Piracy’ Language Get Into ESSA, the K-12 Law?

"The Every Student Succeeds Act is meant to accomplish many things. Hold schools accountable for more than test scores. Unleash new strategies to fix struggling schools. Offer new, more flexible funding to districts.

But language included in the sweeping, 400-page-plus law also lays out another, less expected goal: informing students and parents about “the harms of copyright piracy.”

Wording that urges school officials and parents to explain the importance of preventing the illicit use of copyrighted material is improbably found in a couple sections of the law, alongside more predictable school policy language on literacy, professional development, and student achievement.

Which raises the obvious question: How did it get in there?"