Welcome and course overview

Welcome to the course “Intellectual Property Management in the Food Sector: Safeguarding Your Trademarks in the Global Marketplace”. During this course you will learn the basics of Intellectual Property (IP) Management. This course will focus on the food industry, subsequently our examples, discussions, applications, and case studies will come from this sector.

During the course you will hear from IP Management experts both from a theoretical point of view and from experts managing IP in various companies. They will speak about the various legal and practical aspects of IP management. You will learn to identify your IP assets and basic strategies for safeguarding IP and getting the most out of it.

This course is divided into four weeks.

1. During the first week you will learn how Intellectual property differs from other types of property. You will learn how to identify IP and will become familiar with the legal protection that is afforded to IP.
2. During the second week you will study details of the various legal ways of protecting different types of intellectual property. You will learn to identify the proper approach for using and managing each type of IP. This information will also aid you in learning how to read a patent.
3. During the third week you will learn useful strategies for managing IP. When it is best pursue legal protection, e.g. with a patent, and when to just keep your IP a secret? You will explore the relationship between IP and innovation. We will discuss issues related to cooperation with business partners and the particularities related to working with an academic partner.
4. In fourth and final week the course takes on a distinctively practical feel as there will be interviews with companies regarding their own IP management as well as case studies.

Since you have already begun this course you might already be aware of the importance of IP. This course should start you on your way to its proper management.

We now invite you to continue learning the remaining Week 1 material. You will find out how IP differs from real property and understand what they have in common and, more importantly, how they differ. Many aspects will be considered, e.g. how the property is created, used, shared, and sold.

You will also learn about the different types of IP and the differences in how these types of property can be protected. You will learn why IP is recognized by governments and how it helps both the owner of the property and society. Furthermore you will discover the importance and benefits of a multi-pronged strategy for IP protection.

Top tips

If you’re new to the FutureLearn platform, here are some tips you may find useful to help you prepare:

• Take a look ahead to see what is coming up in the following Weeks.
• Each video also has a transcript which you can read by clicking ‘view transcript’ found underneath each video.
• As you work through the course, mark each Step as complete to help keep track of your progress.
• Hold down the shift key when clicking on a web link. This will open the link in a separate window so you don’t lose your page that you’re working through.
• Look out for any further reading which can be found at the bottom of the Steps under the heading ‘See also’, references and supporting documents listed under ‘Downloads’.
• Please note: This course includes video content and other visual teaching methods. On some quiz and poll questions, the information is displayed in an image.

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Thank you for joining us on this course. Please share your reasons for joining in the discussion area below. We look forward to hearing from you as the course progresses.

The Educators won’t be able to join the discussions themselves or respond to individual comments, but the course encourages a strong learning community. The learning is focused around debate and discussion – supporting other learners, sharing your own experience and knowledge, and listening to new perspectives. We hope that you will enjoy interacting with and learning from each other in this way. Don’t forget to comment, reply to other learners and ‘like’ comments.