About the patent teaching kit

What is the patent teaching kit?

Designed for use by university lecturers, it contains everything you need to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the patent system, including information on how to file patent applications and search for existing patents.

Whether or not you have previous experience of patents, the kit's ready-made teaching materials will enable you to prepare and deliver a core lecture lasting between one and two hours, as well as three additional sub-modules if required.

Who is it for?

The kit has been designed for students of any subject, but will be of particular interest to those studying natural sciences, engineering, law, medicine or business administration. The material assumes no prior knowledge of the subject on the part of either students or teachers.

What does it contain?

The patent teaching kit contains PowerPoint presentations, teachers' notes, background information and real-world examples and case studies.

It is made up of two core modules:

• an introduction for students of science, engineering, medicine and business administration, comprising information on intellectual property rights, basic facts about patents, the essentials of filing for a patent, help deciding whether or not to patent, and a guide to using patents as a source of information.
• an introduction for law students, comprising information on intellectual property rights, patentability requirements, ownership issues, disclosure requirements, infringement and litigation and commercialising patents.

and three sub-modules:

• searching for existing patents - how to use the Espacenet database
• the use of patents by a university spin-off
• understanding patent claims.