Intellectual Property

Recommended Prerequisites

No prerequesites exist for the frequency of this course.

Teaching Methods

The teaching methodology is based on three levels of organization. At the individual level, each student attends the discipline, participating and learning the fundamental technical aspects of the course. At the group level, students propose, analyze and develop a business concept, which was a result from their strategic analysis of the market. Finally, at the level of discipline, all groups interact with each other in sessions of presentation of their projects progress and other management topics, involving discussion, self-assessment and comparative evaluation between groups.

Learning Outcomes

This course provides students with an overall perspective of how organizations function and helps developing their strategic thinking, besides training them on specific matters regarding different technical aspects of management. The course has also an important aim to foster students’ proactivity and entrepreneur ability, which will developed during the course duration by assigning a project for the study, analysis and creation of a new business venture. The discipline is taken as a learning space, were all stakeholders, students and teachers, are committed to actively contribute to their vision and mission:

Mission: To contribute, through an active and participated learning process, to the preparation and training of future professionals, with entrepreneur ability and able to understand the way organizations work.

Vision: To be permanently a discipline of reference in the teaching of management and entrepreneurship under continuous improvement.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Intelectual Property
Strategic value of patents: intellectual assets, the importance of the intellectual assets, business strategy and IP strategy, competitor surveillance.
Introduction to patent law: what is a patent, patentable subject-matter, novelty, inventive step and industrial application. Unity of invention, sufficiency of disclosure and inventorship.
IP and agreements: importance of agreements, confidential disclosure agreements (CDA) and material transfer agreements (MTA)
Contents of a patent: front page, description, claims and drawings. Types of claims, independent and dependent claims.
Importance of lab books: why are lab books important, changes in the American law, good lab books.
The Patenting process: regional systems, EPO, EAPO, ARIPO and OAPI. PCT and European patent convention. Priority system. Post grant actions, national patent offices, EPO and national courts. Oppositions, appeal.

Head Lecturer(s)

Telmo Luís Coutinho Figueiredo

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Mini Tests: 40.0%
Project: 60.0%

Bibliography

Pedro M. Saraiva, Empreendedorismo: do conceito à aplicação, da ideia ao negócio, da tecnologia ao valor. Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2ª ed., 2011.