POLISH IPR ADVANCEMENT: TRAINING FOR ALL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002231 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS TO USTR FOR WMOORE COMMERCE FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/OECA/MROGERS, JBURGESS, JKIMBALL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR PL SUBJECT: POLISH IPR ADVANCEMENT: TRAINING FOR ALL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ¶1. Summary: The Polish government has issued a higher education guideline calling for all Polish university students to receive instruction in intellectual property rights (IPR). To our knowledge, this is the first time such a step has been taken anywhere in the world. The President of the Polish Patent Office personally championed the measure. Although the guideline is not binding, Polish universities appear to be taking its implementation seriously. Among the challenges to implementation will be finding enough instructors. IPR instruction, as envisioned by the guideline, should increase notably awareness of intellectual property rights in Poland, and hopefully lead to increased respect for such rights. End summary. -------------- -------------- New Regulation Recommends Across-the-Board IPR Instruction -------------- -------------- ¶2. A new guideline from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education added IPR awareness to the standards for university-level education, effective October 1, 2007. The Patent Office,s President, Alicja Adamczak, personally lobbied both the government and academia for the measure, according to her Chief of Staff, Ewa Nizinska-Matysiak. The non-binding guideline recommends that universities and technical colleges in Poland add an IPR component to all programs of study, with the exception of theological programs and vocational schools. IPR instruction is mandatory for biology and biotechnology programs. -------------- -------------- Warsaw University Plans Significant Implementation -------------- -------------- ¶3. Universities are studying how to implement the new guideline. EconOff spoke with Konstanty Wojtaszczyk, the Deputy Rector for Student Affairs at one of Poland,s premier institutions of higher education, Warsaw University (UW). UW plans to require a minimum of 30 hours of IPR instruction, with a recommendation of an additional 30 hours of enrichment activities, for a total of 60 hours. Degree-seeking undergraduate students will probably receive the instruction in their third year of studies. IPR instruction will be a university-wide requirement, but each department will structure a course according to the needs of their particular programs. ¶4. Wojtaszczyk noted that the guideline only applies to students who will have entered the university in 2007 or later. Since the first group of affected students will not reach their third year until 2009, UW has some time to grapple with an implementation problem: a shortage of qualified IPR instructors. At present only 10 potential instructors have been identified from the UW faculty (in the economics, law and management departments). UW enrolls nearly 60,000 students. -------------- -------------- Supporting Measure Promised to Train IPR Teachers -------------- -------------- ¶5. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education is planning an initiative in 2008 to increase availability of IPR instructors, according to the Patent Office's Nizinska-Matysiak. She told EconOff that EU Human Capital funds, which are disbursed by the Ministry, would pay for both a program to produce IPR instructors, and allow their subsequent teaching activities to be provided free of cost to colleges and universities throughout Poland. -------------- IPR Awareness Activities Continue -------------- ¶6. Post has informed the AmCham in Poland about the new guideline, and continues to facilitate the American business community's efforts to boost IPR education. The AmCham is organizing an IPR seminar on November 15, 2007 through the UW Law Students, Association, and has offered assistance in organizing academic coursework on IPR. The Polish Patent Office is also planning two conferences to heighten awareness on the academic level, in addition to its annual IPR conference. -------------- Comment -------------- WARSAW 00002231 002 OF 002 ¶7. The introduction of this guideline makes Poland a leader in Europe in advancing outreach on IPR issues to the next generation. Poland is pushing toward becoming a knowledge-based economy, and is anxious to instill in youth the corresponding understanding of intellectual property protections. HILLAS