Incorporating Intellectual Property Into Engineering Education

Abstract

Engineering education is not addressing one of the most important areas of the engineering professional: Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property (IP) encompasses the intangible "stuff" which is what engineering is all about-original thought, invention, and progress. The three traditional areas of IP are copyrights, trademarks, and patents. An engineer cannot protect his or her interest, whether it be an invention, expression of idea, or some other non-tangible property, without understanding these three IP areas. Engineering educators should understand that IP has not been incorporated into the discipline. Educators should also note that by the lack of IP instruction, engineering graduates are ignorant as to the protection of their creations. This impacts their futures as they will be entering the creative field of engineering without IP knowledge and may not protect their rights. Of course, this does not help the student or the progression of engineering. This paper, written by a patent agent and patent attorney, both holding doctorate degrees in computer science and electrical engineering, respectively, will introduce the basic concepts of intellectual property and show ways to introduce IP into an engineering curriculum.

‘Food for Engineers’: Intellectual Property Education for Innovators

“…• where to find patent information; • when it is time to call in an expert; and • how to commence the dialogue with a professional intellectual property adviser. Kaplan and Kaplan (2003) say much the same thing:…”

“…Apparently she impressed an interviewer with her knowledge of IP and received an engineering position because of it! (Kaplan and Kaplan, 2003. ) Yo Takagi, Executive Director of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said:…”

“…The students, however, do not present a barrier. Once they understand the link between IPRs and commercial exploitation, they respond positively to intellectual property classes, particularly when the examples and case studies used relate to their own practice (Kaplan and Kaplan, 2003;Soetendorp, 2002). The UK Engineering Council has recently published UK-SPEC, which details the standards for registration as a Chartered Engineer.…”

The State of Intellectual Property Education Worldwide

“…For instance, the UK requires patent agents to have a technology, engineering, or science major in their first degree, prior to the commencement of IP studies. University engineering faculty and U.S. patent attorneys Kaplan and Kaplan (2003) include IP law in their engineering classes, saying, "IP knowledge is important for engineers: engineers should try to understand IP basics to protect their creations. Also, IP searches can indicate the growth of different engineering fields.…”