Introduction and overview

Intellectual property (IP) is a timely and important topic for students graduating from institutions in developing or developed economies, in disciplines as diverse as biotechnology and fashion design. There is international demand for graduates able to capitalize on the knowledge they create. But there is no guarantee that intellectual property education will feature in the curricula of faculties other than law schools. In recent years, academics from across the disciplines have begun to consider the reluctance to teach IP beyond the law school, and to offer suggestions for developing curricula to include it.

Challenges in this subject

This chapter will explore some of the frequently asked questions that occur when academics start to think about including IP in the non-law curriculum.

• Who is the audience for IP education?

• Why teach IP to non-lawyers?

• What does an IP syllabus cover?

• How to teach IP to non-lawyers?

• When is it best to teach IP?

• Who can teach IP?

• What if there is only one lecture allocated to IP?

• Which resources should be used?

• What does the future hold for IP teaching to non-law students?

Who is the audience for IP education?

IP education is relevant to students at all levels, and from all disciplines. Within the university community, it is important to achieve a level of IP awareness and competence among researchers, faculty members, administrators and technology transfer managers.