As the recent patent war between two big shots -- Steve Job’s Apple and LEE Gun Hee’s Samsung -- intensifies the process of this battle is being closely watched among economists as well as technicians. One result of this lawsuit is a heightened interest in patent agents, as Samsung scouted a renowned patent expert from Qualcomm just last week. Following this global trend in intellectual property, SNU seeks to foster important players in future IP conflicts.
SNU President OH Yeon Cheon signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Secretary General of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Francis Gurry on July 7 for the establishment of the Master’s Degree in Intellectual Property (MIP). WIPO is a specialized agency under the auspices of the UN. It is dedicated to “developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system.” Its MIP program proves especially important these days not only because intellectual property translates into money but because today’s society is progressively complexifying and developing with each passing day.
The MIP program sponsored by WIPO was first established in Mutare, Zimbabwe in 2008. Jointly offered by the WIPO Worldwide Academy, African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), and Africa University, the MIP program is already well into its fourth year.
In Asia, Korea had to compete with Japan and China to gain this partnership with one of its universities. SNU was shortlisted and then finally selected as the qualified candidate to host the MIP program due to SNU’s renowned teaching staff, the university’s curriculum related to intellectual property, its academic atmosphere, and more generally Korea’s awareness and culture of respect for intellectual property rights.
The WIPO-SNU MIP program will be initiated by 2012 with the support of WIPO and will be educating government officials in knowledge-based industries of Asia’s less developed countries and Central Asian countries that have been in Russia’s sphere of influence, as well as people working in the intellectual property industry. These students will be taught patent law, copyright law, trademark law, new property rights law, commercialization of intellectual property, theory and national policy in today’s society, and construction of an intellectual property system. SNU hopes to expose the benefits of Korea’s information-based economy through this program.
The establishment of this MIP program is significant in that Korea will be able to build an international network with high-ranking government officials and entrepreneurs of the countries mentioned above. It is expected that academic exchanges between prestigious universities across Asia will flourish and contribute to the cooperation and development of intellectual property policies between the governments of Korea and other countries.
SNU has been ranked the number one university with the most patents over the last five years nationwide according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (ranking does not include specialized universities). Receiving 3536 patents since 2006, SNU is now getting ready to produce renowned IP experts that befit this achievement.
Written by LEE BoYoung, SNU English Editor, bylee0708@gmail.com ?
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies,
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com, eps7257@snu.ac.kr