Posts Tagged: "CIPU"

The Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) has released a report that gauges the level of intellectual property (IP) engagement at the largest U.S. university entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) programs. The nonprofit organization found that E&I programs at U.S. universities are increasingly incorporating IP into students’ business education. The report’s goal was in part to evaluate whether the observed increase in entrepreneurship in the United States is improving engagement with or is a result of intellectual property. CIPU wrote, “understanding the level of IP engagement among students enrolled at these schools provides insight into ways to increase support for the nation’s would be entrepreneurs.”

The explosion of the non-fungible token (NFT) market and the jaw-dropping prices being paid for digital art — $69 million for a single work and millions for others ­— have made some fast millionaires, while also giving rise to scammers and a widespread debate about the value of intangible goods. For some artists, the market for NFTs has proved to be a huge boon. For example, Chicago-based photographer Brittany Pierre sold over six figures worth of her art on the OpenSea marketplace in 2021 after teaching herself how to mint an NFT, whereas previously she had difficulty paying rent and groceries. For established artists who have curated an online following and understand the value of scarcity, the opportunities presented by NFTs have produced a level of autonomy not previously experienced in their careers. 

Students at prestigious universities in the United States are not required to take even a single intellectual property (IP) course to fulfill the requirements for a graduate business degree. Course offerings in 2021 remain elective at all of the elite management programs, and the coverage varies by school, department offering them and the background of the instructor. These and other findings about IP education at business schools are contained in a report compiled by the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) that will be announced on Thursday at the 4th Intellectual Property Awareness Summit. The report, “Intellectual Property at Business Schools: An Evolving Landscape,” looks at the state of IP education at the top 20 U.S. programs, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, and comes away with decidedly mixed findings. While some 44 courses are offered by the leading programs, almost one-third offer a single elective course, and none are compulsory. This is particularly pertinent on World IP Day, the theme of which this year focuses on the importance of IP rights for small and medium businesses, and the problems that a lack of IP understanding can lead to.

On November 6th, the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) will host the Intellectual Property Awareness Summit (IPAS) at the Chicago-Kent College of Law (CKCL). The conference is the first of its kind which seeks to bring together IP thought leaders from various sectors including business, academia, government and other organizations to address a lack of IP understanding among certain audiences in the realms of copyright, trade secrets, trademarks and patents.