Lecturers: Matteo Ferrari, Arturo Pironti

The main goal of the course is to introduce students to the protection of innovation through Intellectual Property rights. The first part of the course will focus on patents, breeders’ rights and trade secrets as different tools to protect innovation, looking to their pros and cons. A brief introduction to copyright and trademarks will be also provided. The second part will deal with the role that technology transfer contracts can play in protecting scientific discoveries and technological advancements, as well in fostering cooperation among different scientists and research centres. In the final part, students will engage in the analysis and drafting of documents (patent and breeders’ rights applications, material transfer agreements, non-disclosure agreements, license agreements).

Course Schedule

Evaluation procedure: Drafting of a document analysed during the course