Inclusive intellectual
property initiatives
for young people and regional knowledge sharing
Working towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4

INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INITIATIVESFOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING: WORKING TOWARDS UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4

Foreword
Young people and the next generation of innovators are the future.
While the global intellectual property (IP) system protects andfosters innovation, global IP education and foundational knowledgeof how IP protects and fosters innovation across various regions
can make the power of IP accessible to everyone.
It is hoped that the Trilateral offices’ IP education initiatives forpeople of all ages, presented here at a glance in this special brochurefor the first time, will help to achieve United Nations Sustainable
Development Goal 4 (UN SDG 4). In other words, contribute toensuring inclusive and equitable quality education all around theworld and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
The initiatives provide educational material for educators,
policymakers, innovators and IP professionals. They covertechnology transfer, knowledge sharing and education. They
are designed to reach out to where they are most needed, andcomprehensively meet the needs of children and young people<

when it comes to innovation across Africa, Asia, Europe
and North America.
In the spirit of co-operation that is embodied across the Trilateral
offices, a growing focus on developing and least developed
countries is common to several of the initiatives, which were firstpresented at the 41st Trilateral Conference on 4 October 2023 at
the European Patent Office in Munich. Selected training content
and university programmes are eventually to be made available
worldwide, a process that is already underway through various
certification and career development initiatives in co-operation
with universities across the relevant regions.

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Technology
transfer andknowledge
sharing<03

INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INITIATIVESFOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING: WORKING TOWARDS UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4

European Patent Officeinitiatives
PATLIBPATLIB is a powerful network of more than 300 patent information
centres throughout Europe. In 2022, the PATLIB network engaged
in more than 355 000 customer service interactions and provided
some 11 000 technology transfer services. The PATLIB 2.0 project
has provided learning and support packages to assist PATLIB
centres with upskilling their staff and raising awareness of a rapidlychanging IP landscape amongst their users.

PATLIB is a powerful
network of more than 300
patent information centres
throughout Europe

A new online PATLIB directory is now integrated in the Single Access
Portal for EPO members states, helping national offices to improveaccess for the general public to the PATLIB network. Since 2020, theEPO has hosted 20 online "Shaping the future together" networking
sessions for all stakeholders and distributed 58 editions of the
PATLIB newsletter.

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INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INITIATIVESFOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING: WORKING TOWARDS UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4

KT2A

HTB

The Knowledge transfer to Africa (KT2A) initiative was launched in
April 2022, achieving a significant social impact. Following a call forinterest, 17 PATLIB experts volunteered as trainers and mentors in theareas of technology transfer, commercialisation and IP awareness.
The EPO has helped shape individual development plans for 24
African universities. Three major events have taken place to date:

The EPO has established a high-growth technology business (HTB)
initiative in co-operation with the Licensing Executives SocietyInternational (LESI) and nearly 20 supporting organisations. This
programme aims to encourage, educate and train business decisionmakers in the deep-tech field to engage with IP and create value
with their technologies. HTB highlights include five EPO activities,
seven EPO lead co-operations, five third-party training activities,
one podcast and several case studies related to SMEs, technology
transfer and high-tech businesses.

• EPO President António Campinos personally opened the KT2A
seminar in Harare, Zimbabwe, 6-7 December 2022, which raised
awareness of KT2A among member states of the African Regional
Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and other key partners• Presenting KT2A at Salon Africain de l‘Invention et de l‘EntrepriseInnovante (SAIIT), 24-26 July 2023 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a major
biennial forum for Francophone Africa‘s innovators• Hybrid PATLIB Seminar – KT2A, 5-6 September 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria
Further highlights include initial twinning activities for theexchange of professional experience and expertise between PATLIB
centres and universities in Africa, held in summer 2023.

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The EPO has helped shapeindividual development plansfor 24 African universities

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Technology transfer initiatives
The PATLIB 2.0 project has boosted the role of the PATLIB network
as a key player in IP valorisation and technology transfer. This isreflected in various ways, including in the recent Memorandum ofUnderstanding between the EPO and the Association of Scientificand Technology Transfer Professionals (ASTP). Further synergies
have taken shape through the strengthening of co-operation with
the European Innovation Council and with the European Institutefor Innovation and Technology (EIT), especially with regard to the
EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs).
The PATLIB network also actively shares best practices with the
EU Knowledge Valorisation Platform. Further, the EPO has become
an observer organisation in the Technology Transfer Offices Circle(TTO Circle) co-ordinated by the European Commission‘s Joint
Research Centre and will become an Alliance of Technology Transfer
Professionals (ATTP) course provider.

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Reinforced partnerships, validationagreements and capacity building
As part of its co-operation policy with non-member states, theEPO provides comprehensive capacity building programmes forpatent examiners. Initiatives range from training that is specificto a given technology field, workshops on EPO practices in searchand examination and the use of EPO tools (including ANSERAbased SEARCH and Cooperative Patent Classification) to tailor-madecoaching sessions for examiners.

Training is currently carriedout in virtual or hybrid format
to reach the widest possible
audience while remaining
sustainable

Training is currently carried out in virtual or hybrid format to reach
the widest possible audience while remaining sustainable. In
addition, the EPO regularly shares best practices and knowledge
on quality and performance management. All these efforts aim toensure the highest standards in the patent granting process, which
in turn supports innovators looking to protect their inventions
across the world, access new markets and transfer their knowledge
and technologies.

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Japan Patent Officeinitiatives
Thanks to this project, the JPO received
297 patent applications, universities
concluded 59 agreements to launchjoint research or licensing projects and9 startups were established

Dispatching IP strategy designers touniversities
In 2019, the JPO initiated a project for dispatching IP strategy
designers to universities. Professionals with expert knowledge ofIP, startups and business in general, including patent attorneys,
representatives of IP divisions in private companies and venture
capitalist specialists, visit universities and work with researchadministrators to identify promising research outcomes that are notyet recognised for their potential as IP. The aim is to design futureoriented IP strategies for universities.

IP ePlat
The JPO and INPIT also run IP ePlat, an initiative that provides
online educational materials to support the use of IP. The courses
include essential insights into how to establish a university spin-off
and support technology transfer at universities.

As of March 2023, designers had been dispatched to 37 universities.
Thanks to this project, the JPO received 297 patent applications,
universities concluded 59 agreements to launch joint research or
licensing projects and 9 startups were established. The project also
aims to educate university research administrators on identifying
potential IP opportunities and enhancing their IP management
capabilities. The project was transferred to the National Center for
Industrial Property Information and Training (INPIT) in April 2023.

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JPO/IPR Training Course on
Academia-Industry Collaboration
and Technology Transfer
The JPO offers various training courses as part of its humanresource development activities for developing countries. The
JPO/IPR Training Course on Academia-Industry Collaboration andTechnology Transfer targets officials in IP offices and ministries
related to technology development, staff at universities andresearch institutions, and personnel in charge of IP at privatecompanies in developing countries.
The aim is to teach efficient and effective IP management methods
in universities and research institutes. Participants share the current
status and challenges of IP policies and strategies in their countries.
Through lectures and discussions on IP management, they also
deepen their understanding of industry-academia-government
collaborations and of technology transfer methods in the private
sector. In November 2023, 22 trainees from 18 countries completed
the course.

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United States Patent and Trademark Officeinitiatives
Patents-4-Partnerships
The USPTO launched the Patents-4-Partnerships platform in 2020.
This searchable IP marketplace platform aims to connect innovatorswith potential licensees who can accelerate the development andapplication of promising technologies. The platform provides alisting of published patents and patent applications voluntarily
indicated to be available for licensing by the owners on external
public websites or in the USPTO Official Gazette Notices. It also
includes known information about the availability of a technology
as well as links to sources with licensing information. In addition,
the USPTO provisionally proposes a collaboration in which Trilateral
offices and industry would work towards the creation of acentralised IP marketplace platform or portal.

This searchable IP marketplaceplatform aims to connect
innovators with potential
licensees who can accelerate
the development andapplication of promisingtechnologies

Education and capacity building
The USPTO has a variety of education, outreach and capacity
building efforts. These range from short seminars and webinars tolong-term national programmes.
Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs) make up anationwide network of public, state and academic libraries that aredesignated by the USPTO to disseminate patent and trade markinformation and to support the diverse IP needs of the public.
PTRCs facilitate public access to products and services, offer patentand trade mark training, as well as provide reference assistance andoutreach to the public.
Through its Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA), the USPTO
hosts training programmes on technology transfer in various
countries, including least developed and developing countries. Since
2019, the USPTO has hosted 10 technology transfer programmes,with over 600 attendees from 49 countries, 8 of which were least
developed countries.
A designated technology transfer team routinely provides webinars
and seminars for US stakeholders to provide background on
US mechanisms of technology transfer as well as guidance onnegotiating IP licensing and IP sale transactions. These trainings
and webinars are now carried out in Thailand, South Africa andIndia, among other countries. In addition, the USPTO has worked
with Thailand, South Africa and other countries in assessing andimplementing Bayh-Dole-type laws and regulations and providing
technical assistance.

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Since 2019, the USPTO has
hosted 10 technology transfer
programmes, with over 600
attendees from 49 countries,
8 of which were least
developed countries

Further recent highlights include a Memorandum of Understanding
with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), one
of India’s oldest and largest technology transfer organisations. The
USPTO also co-hosted a day-long Technology Transfer symposiumin New Delhi with the NRDC. Finally, the EPO and USPTO jointly
arranged an IP and technology transfer course at the University ofSophia in Bulgaria taking place in the academic year 2023/2024.
The Green Energy Innovation Expo, a USPTO collaboration with
the Association of University Technology Managers and theFederal Laboratory Consortium, launched in 2023. The one-day
event featured roundtable discussions and seminars, facilitating
partnerships between businesses and federal laboratories,
universities and private-sector innovators. This included
partnerships with government-funded startups across various green
energy technologies available for licensing, such as green hydrogen,energy storage and wind energy. Attendees were able to present
their innovation portfolios to key industry representatives and form
collaborative relationships with other organisations in their field.
As part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) initiative to help
women understand how IP can help secure investment into
their businesses, the USPTO has hosted WEWednesday, where apanel of entrepreneurs and experts shared their experiences ofbringing their ideas to market through licensing partnerships andtechnology transfer. In addition, the USPTO provisionally proposes acollaboration in which the Trilateral offices and industry would hostinternational conferences on several topics related to technology
transfer.

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World Intellectual Property Organization
initiatives
Technology and Innovation Centers(TISCs)Under this WIPO programme, there are now over 1 500 TISCs
worldwide. They help connect local innovators and entrepreneurs
with technologies by providing access to online patent andnon-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related
publications, as well as training in database search and assistancein searching and retrieving technology information. Entrepreneurs
can also benefit from on-demand searches (novelty, state-of-the-art
and infringement); technology and competitor monitoring; basic
information on industrial property laws, management and strategy;
and technology commercialisation and marketing.

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WIPO INSPIREWIPO INSPIRE is a global knowledge resource platform forinnovation, helping innovators and entrepreneurs make informed
decisions throughout the innovation cycle. It provides a uniqueblend of information and knowledge on patent search, patent
analytics, technology transfer and institutional IP policies,
combining reference data with expert insights into resources, tools
and good practice recommendations.

WIPO INSPIRE is a global
knowledge resource platform
for innovation, helping
innovators and entrepreneurs
to make informed decisions

The platform assists innovators, entrepreneurs, patent professionals
and TISCs through its collection of reports on patent databases, aswell as the overview it provides of online patent registers, gazettes
and legal status-related information from over 200 jurisdictions
and patent information collections. Patent analytics, such as Patent
Landscape Reports, are also featured on the platform, along with
WIPO Technology Trends reports. It also offers eTISC, a social
knowledge platform that provides a space for discussions among
the TISC community and other IP users.

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WIPO IP Policy Toolkit
The IP Policy Toolkit helps universities and research institutions
deal with key issues such as ownership of IP and rights of use, IP
disclosure, IP management, IP commercialisation, incentives forresearchers, recording and accounting and conflicts of interest.
It provides an IP policy writer checklist and IP policy template foracademic and research institutions, as well as guidelines for thecustomisation of the template.

IP Commercialisation and Knowledge
Transfer Toolkit
This IP toolkit is designed to help universities and research
institutions with knowledge and technology transfer as well as
IP commercialisation. It provides university managers, knowledgetransfer officers and researchers with the tools to develop theirown entrepreneurial approach to IPR management. It also includes
model agreements, an academic intellectual assets map andhypothetical case studies.

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Knowledge transfer for universities

WIPO GREEN

WIPO provides legal advice, assistance for setting up structures
such as Technology Transfer Office (TTOs) and various free tools,
manuals and training materials on knowledge transfer.

WIPO GREEN is a matchmaking platform for sustainable
technologies. Through its sophisticated database, the platform
facilitates direct connections between solution seekers andtechnology providers, promoting technology transfer andinnovation. WIPO GREEN is also behind the WIPO flagship digitalpublication Green Technology Book, which showcases technologies
available for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The
publication is closely linked to the WIPO GREEN database. Moreover,the database supports WIPO GREEN acceleration projects, which
involve on-the-ground technology matchmaking with farmers,
businesses, communities and cities. These projects focus on specificsectors, regions and countries for targeted matchmaking.

WIPO model contracts for academic
institutions
In order to support academic institutions in the development andnegotiation of technology transfer contracts, WIPO provides model
agreements between academic institutions and industry partners.

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The platform facilitates directconnections between solution
seekers and technology
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Youngpeople in
focus

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European Patent Officeinitiatives
Modular IP Education Framework(MIPEF)A quality digital IP education offer can help realise the vision of
every university graduate having completed a course on patents.
Relying on the infrastructure built by the Pan-European Seal
programme (see p.16), MIPEF was developed to reach thousands ofstudents. The MIPEF digital course, “Create – Protect – Innovate:
Bringing Ideas to Market”, is based on practical examples and casestudies, mainly of European Inventor Award finalists and winners,
and principally aims to meet the needs of science and engineering
university students.

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The course’s modular structure offers two sets (one entry level andone advanced set) of five modules, plus live sessions and interactive
forums. The course is designed for integration into university
curricula, with the potential to earn 6 ECTS credits. Currently, MIPEF
is offered at 22 universities in 11 EPO member states, to over 500
Master‘s and PhD students.

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Pan-European Seal Young
Professional programmeThis programme is co-promoted by the EPO and the European
Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), together with Europe’s
national IP offices. The initiative is well-established in Europe
as a respected talent development programme, which attracts
a growing number of university graduates with backgrounds inscience, engineering, business administration, law, international
relations, communication, economics and finance.
A network of 141 universities across Europe now support the
programme. Since its inception in 2016, more than 1 000 talented
graduates have kick-started their careers at the EPO and EUIPO.
At the EPO, participants receive on-the-job work experience andprofessional training to develop their skills and increase their future
employability. The programme offers challenging assignments in arange of departments across the EPO’s sites in Munich, The Hague,
Vienna, Berlin and Brussels.

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The EPO, the second-largest intergovernmental organisation in
Europe, is passionate about its staff and committed to social
responsibility. It therefore offers a supportive multiculturalenvironment for young professionals to embark on the first steps oftheir careers. Through the Pan-European Seal Young Professionals
Programme, the EPO:
• has launched an attractive framework that provides a first
employment opportunity for high-achieving graduates;• continues to grow IP talents and support the development of IP
knowledge and expertise across Europe;• strives to promote a vibrant IP culture in Europe.

Since the programme’s
inception in 2016, more than
1 000 talented graduates havekick-started their careers at
the EPO and EUIPO

For the 2023/24 edition, the EPO has allocated 79 year one
young professionals across all business areas. 75% of theserecent graduates are women, 44% have engineering and sciencebackgrounds and 22 nationalities are represented in total. Basedon participants’ performance, they may work at the EPO within
the framework of the programme for up to three years altogether.
Combining the latest intake with participants who have alreadyprogressed to years two and three, there are now a total of over 150
young professionals on the programme at the EPO.

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Experts demonstrate howpatents protect inventions,
including those relating toclimate change and global
healthAdvanced lecture series

Certification initiative with universities

In this annual series of four online lectures, experts demonstrate
how patents protect inventions, including those relating to climatechange and global health. While scientists and university professors
are the main target audience, anyone with advanced knowledge ofpatenting is welcome to attend. The series is currently in its third
edition.

The EPO works with selected universities to jointly develop training
content and programmes, resulting in certificates co-awarded andtherefore co-labelled by the EPO and the partner university. It will
eventually be possible to earn these certificates worldwide. The
first co-operation of this kind was established with the CEIPI in
the field of IP management, with the first courses planned to bereleased in 2024.

Inspiring inventors
This series of online talks features European Inventor Award finalists
discussing their inventions. The talks provide a unique opportunity
to interact with inventors and learn how to successfully bring an
invention to market and contribute to innovation. Though scienceand technology students are the primary target audience, the series
will appeal to everyone with an interest in innovation.

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European Inventor Network

Children and young people
To inspire interest in science, technology, engineering andmathematics (STEM) among innovators and entrepreneurs, theEuropean Patent Academy has initiated a dedicated programme
for children and young people. This programme seeks to enhanceawareness, broaden knowledge and cultivate societal transformation
through innovation and entrepreneurial skills. In July 2022, the EPO
launched its “IP education for kids and youngsters” initiative incollaboration with European Schools, targeting not only children, butalso teachers, institutions and policymakers. Specific activities include:
European School Science Symposium
The EPO provides financial support to the event and sends its
experts to serve on the jury. Last year, the annual European School
Science Symposium was held in Varese (Italy) in March. The
symposium encourages individuals or groups of students, guided bya teacher or mentor, to explore scientific topics of their choosing,typically beyond the scope of their curriculum. Winners from thesenior groups advance to represent the European Schools at theEuropean Union Contest for Young Scientists.

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Complementary course on sustainability and active citizenship forthe network of European Schools
The EPO is in the process of creating a course titled “Sustainability
and active citizenship,” which will be integrated into the curricula
for students aged 15 to 18.

The European Inventor Network brings together past winners andfinalists of the European Inventor Award and Young Inventors Prize.
It aims to connect inventors with schools, offer financial support
for inventor-led activities and recognise the role of inventors innurturing creativity.

Becoming an inventor
As part of the activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of theEuropean Patent Convention, the Academy hosted a workshop on
the importance of innovation, inventions and entrepreneurship,
as well as the role of patents and the EPO. An e-learning module“Becoming an inventor” was developed to support educators at
the high school level in better understanding and presenting thiscontent to their students (15-18 years old).

Established in July 2023, the network has over 200 members, andits efforts have already impacted approximately 3 500 children
and young adults in 11 countries, through 24 different activities.
Feedback from participating students has been highly positive,
particularly on their direct engagement with inventors. The
European Inventor Network aims to expand its membership andfurther increase its impact.

The Young Inventors Prize
The Young Inventors Prize, originally part of the European Inventor
Award, is specifically aimed at young innovators aged 30 andunder. It recognises problem-solving initiatives across all technicalfields, awarding solutions that contribute to the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals and have a positive global impact.

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Japan Patent Officeinitiatives
Patent Contest and Design PatentContestThe JPO holds an annual Patent Contest and a Design PatentContest in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Patent Attorneys
Association (JPAA) and the National Center for Industrial Property
Information and Training (INPIT).

Students are invited tosubmit their own inventions
and designs<

Students in high schools, technical colleges, specialised training
colleges and universities throughout Japan are invited to submit
their own inventions and designs. A jury first selects 30 inventions
and 30 designs. Of these, the most outstanding entries receive
awards and the winners are eligible for support from JPAA
members, including guidance and assistance when preparing theirpatent applications.

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Junior Innovation FestThe Junior Innovation Fest is an annual event that takes place
during school summer vacation. It provides opportunities forchildren to foster creativity and deepen their understanding of
IP. In 2023, the JPO prepared three special space-themed classes,
including one on how a planetarium works, enabling kids to have
fun while learning. The JPO also hosted five different experiential
booths, one of which featured a trademark registration experience.
In a follow-up survey, many participants expressed a keen interestin attending the event again.

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Initiatives through the WIPO Japan Fund
The JPO supports various WIPO initiatives through Funds-in-Trust
Japan Industrial Property Global (FIT Japan IP Global).
A user-friendly resource titled “How to explore ideas” was publishedto emphasise the importance of creative thinking and the role of IP,
using as an example the globally recognised ‘Cup Noodles’ invented
by Momofuku Ando. In addition, the manual also helps readersdevelop their creativity.
A pilot project to support young designers in leveraging IP aims to upskill young designers to incorporate IP protection and management intheir strategy for creative development and the marketing of industrial
designs. Meanwhile, the Master’s degree in intellectual property (MIP)
is an initiative that integrates economics, science and technology withthe aim of cultivating future leaders capable of shaping their nations’ IP
policies. Each year, selected students are granted scholarships to study
MIP degrees offered jointly by WIPO and African academic institutions,
namely Africa University in Zimbabwe and l’Université de Yaoundé II in
Cameroon. Up to 12 students are selected per programme. So far, over
250 graduates have received scholarships through FIT Japan IP Global
and play an active role in IP policy in their home countries.

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JPO/IPR Training Course on Promoting
Public Awareness of IP and JPO/IPR
Training Course for IP Trainers
The “JPO/IPR Training Course on Promoting Public Awareness ofIP” was designed for developing nations. The training course is
tailored for individuals engaged in promoting public awareness of IP
within IP offices, organisations focused on IP awareness and otherrelated entities. It is all about exploring measures and methods toefficiently and effectively promote public awareness of IP. In August
2023, 21 trainees from 16 countries and 2 organisations completed
the course.

It is all about exploringmeasures and methods toefficiently and effectively
promote public awareness of IP

The JPO also conducts “JPO/IPR Training Course for IP Trainers” forgovernment officials and university staff involved in education on
IP systems. The course aims to cultivate leaders in IP education byenhancing participants’ understanding of effective methods forteaching IP-related topics. Participants learn about the Japanese
IP system and examine some typical IP issues. 19 trainees from
13 countries completed the course held between August and
September 2023.

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IP Learning School Support Programme
for Developing IP Capabilities
The JPO and the INPIT are committed to sharing knowledge andraising awareness about protecting IP and utilising IP rights. This
programme targets students in vocational upper secondary schools
and technical colleges by partnering with schools and offering
them financial support, access to expert advisors and networking
opportunities. In 2023, 42 schools were selected for the programme.

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United States Patent and Trademark Officeinitiatives
An opportunity for highschool students from
communities surrounding
the USPTO headquarters andRegional Offices to develop IP
awareness and knowledge

Education and outreach
The USPTO’s Office of Education provides educational outreachand programming for students, educators, young inventors andinnovators of all ages. These include programmes for pre-K,
K-12 and college students in all communities, including those inunderrepresented areas, as well as outreach initiatives to teachersand parents. Professional development programmes include thefree National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM andIntellectual Property, as well as the Master Teacher Programme,
which uses a train-the-trainer model designed for teacher leaders toempower other teachers across the country.

The USPTO hosts in-person patent and trademark boot camps
to educate diverse populations. In addition, WEWednesday
forms part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship initiative to help
women understand how IP can help secure investment into theirbusinesses. These programmes are held in hybrid and in-personformats.
The USPTO internship programme provides talented high school
seniors and college students with unique opportunities to leverage
their innate skills while developing new ones for the twenty-first
century.

The Intellectual Property Skills Work-based Learning Programme
for high school students offers a paid internship. This provides
an opportunity for high school students from communities
surrounding the USPTO headquarters and Regional Offices todevelop IP awareness and knowledge through practical work
experience at USPTO offices. Similarly, the Innovation Internship
Programme and other paid internship opportunities provide
valuable lessons for community college and university students
through real-world experience via paid internships.

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Partnerships
The USPTO also partners with other organisations to help develop
the innovators of the future. Camp Invention, a collaborative
initiative with the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame (NIHF), has
expanded into a range of educational programmes catering tostudents from preschool to high school, covering subjects likescience, technology, engineering and maths. Last year alone, morethan 280 000 children participated in invention education activities
through the USPTO’s partnership with summer camps and other
innovation programmes.
The USPTO also collaborates with organisations providing
experiential and recognition programmes in innovation forstudents. These include the Society for Science and the Public,
FIRST LEGO League, YMCA, National Invention Convention and theCongressional App Challenge.

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The USPTO works with multiple organisations to curb the physicaland economic harm caused by faulty and dangerous counterfeit
products, while also freezing out the criminal enterprises they
support. Partners include the US Food and Drug Administration,
US Customs and Border Protection, the International Trade
Administration (ITA), the US Copyright Office and private sector
leaders such as the International Trademark Association (INTA), theNational Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF), film organisation Cinequest
and several others. The Go for Real programme is one partnership
helping young consumers avoid dangerous fakes.

The USPTO works withmultiple organisations to curb
the physical and economic
harm caused by faulty
and dangerous counterfeit
products

The USPTO actively serves on the interagency working group(IWG) on STEM as part of the Committee on Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (CoSTEM). The agency plays a key rolein crafting the Federal STEM Strategic Plan.

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The USPTO offers
supplementary resources
aimed at nurturing an
innovative mindset

Online resources
In addition to outreach and partnership programmes, the
USPTO website hosts dedicated pages tailored for youth andeducators. The USPTO kids, students and educators sections
offer supplementary resources aimed at nurturing an innovativemindset. In February 2023, the USPTO launched EquIP HQ, anotherprogramme aimed at children and educators. EquIP HQ is an online
platform that provides free tools to teach K-12 students real-world
invention and IP skills.
The USPTO provisionally proposes a collaboration to develop a
Trilateral strategic work plan spanning three to five years. This plan
would aim to increase patent system awareness through education,outreach, international conference and resources. In addition, thestrategy would aim to promote sustainable development goals
through collaborations with IP offices in developing countries on
global IP issues, such as technology transfer and knowledge sharing.

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World Intellectual Property Organization
initiatives
IP4Teachers and summer
camp seminars offer group
activities, trivia quizzes,
out-of-the-box thinking andpractical creativity exercises

WIPO Academy IP4Youth&Teachers
programmme
IP4Youth&Teachers is a demand-driven service for delivering IP
education capacity-building to WIPO member states. It aims toaccelerate national IP ethical practices and establish the requisite
legal knowledge framework and infrastructure to support teachers,
policymakers and youth access IP education. The services provided
are:Integration of IP Education in National Curricula Service (Primary,
preparatory and secondary)
The service promotes the integration of IP education in national
curricula to facilitate exposure to creativity and innovation startingfrom a formative age. It offers customisable training modules
containing age-appropriate teaching tools and methods, gamified
content and courses and a model IP education curriculum that
WIPO member states can integrate in their national education
curricula. WIPO’s online courses, face-to-face workshops, seminars<

Foreword | Technology transfer and knowledge sharing | Young people in focus

and extracurricular initiatives are tailored to strengthen creativity
and inventiveness, safeguard innovation and ethical IP practice andmake the IP ecosystem accessible to everyone, everywhere in thedigital age.
Customisation Service of IP4Youth and Teacher Training Modules
The Youth Corner offers youth and teachers the option ofcustomisable online self-paced teaching modules. It provides abrief overview of fundamental IP concepts and helps demystify
any misconceptions for young audiences. It emphasises thatanyone interested in creating, inventing and generating income
from creative works can learn how to use IP systems. The YouthCorner invites youth and educators to explore and experiment withpractical tools that interactively foster IP knowledge development.
Currently presented in Arabic, the English and Spanish versions areunder revision.

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IP4Youth Innovation Hubs and Summer Camps Service
Participants typically aged 15 upwards, or between 18 and 24, workin small groups to develop creative or innovative solutions to reallife challenges of their choosing. The summer camp seminars,
organised jointly with WIPO member states, offer group activities,
trivia quizzes, out-of-the-box thinking and practical creativity
exercises derived from the theory of inventive problem solving(TRIZ). The participants receive expert support, evaluative feedback
and learn to conduct a patent search.

IP4Teachers Training Service
The IP4Teachers programme kick-starts the IP education journey
by cultivating dialogue among teachers and educators, curricula
setters and IP offices, and by providing access to WIPO Academy’s
creativity and IP education curricula, methodology and teachingcontent. The programme is designed for individuals who are
already involved in schools, educational and training institutions,ministries of education or IP offices. It offers national, regional
and international creativity and IP teacher training seminars on ademand-driven basis, with recent examples completed for Romania,
Albania, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.

This project aims to equip
youth with the skills andmindset necessary to thrive
in STEM fields and contributeto global innovation anddevelopment

Empowering Youth in STEM: K–12 WIPO Development Agenda
Project (ages 5–18)
This 2024 WIPO Academy project aims to equip youth with the skills
and mindset necessary to thrive in STEM fields and contribute to
global innovation and development. It is focused on a STEM-based
IP curriculum development for youth and provides teacher training
in four WIPO Member States across the Latin American, Caribbean,Arab, African and Asian regions. The project is supported by the US,
Republic of Korea and Canada.

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INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INITIATIVESFOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING: WORKING TOWARDS UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4

WIPO IP Youth Ambassadors
This international awards initiative was launched by the WIPO
Academy in 2019. The IP Youth Ambassadors initiative targets
promising young creators, inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Its goal is to promote IP knowledge among youth through creativity
and inventiveness. This initiative identifies and celebrates theinnovative and inventive accomplishments of young individuals,
as well as facilitating valuable networking and peer interaction.
To date, WIPO has appointed 15 Youth Ambassadors from sevencountries.

WIPO member states and ministries of
education fora
The Roundtable Series on International Copyright Education for theYouth (RICE), launched in 2021 and concluded in 2022. Jointly run
with the United States Copyright Office (USCO), the series enabled
the sharing of experience among government officials, education
policymakers and educators from fifteen countries, providing an
opportunity to discuss strategies, exchange good and best practices
in creativity and IP education, and strengthen collaborative
networks among participants across the regions.
The IP Curriculum Hub contains WIPO member states’ voluntary
contributions in the form of policy papers, IP educational resources,
tools, games and materials for all ages. The hub is for teachers,
educational professionals, curricula developers, parents andpolicymakers, whom it invites to share experiences for the benefitof youth-focused communities of teachers, partner institutions,
IP experts and IP offices. A vibrant community of interest canbe expected to facilitate regular updates, and share good andbest experiences with all countries seeking to benefit fromsimilar interests when it comes to developing IP curricula, special
initiatives, activities and teaching tools for youth worldwide.

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INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INITIATIVESFOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING: WORKING TOWARDS UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4

IP eLearning services
The WIPO eLearning Center offers more than 50 online and blended
learning courses on IP in over 20 languages, including the six official
United Nations languages and Portuguese. The courses caterto a variety of audiences ranging from university students andresearchers, to private professionals such as inventors, creators,
lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, youth and their teachers, as wellas managers, policymakers and government officials, judges anddiplomats.
This offering, which continues to expand through the developmentof skills-based assessment and certification services, places a
growing emphasis on the use of IP as a tool of business strategy.
Courses are also accredited and offered as part of Bachelor’s andMaster’s programmes at 20 universities around the world. During
the past five years, 455 410 youth participated in WIPO Academy
programmes, representing 71% of all WIPO Academy participants,
with women making up 54% of the overall total.

Accessible IP eLearning Services for the
Visually Impaired and Print Disabled (VIPs)
The WIPO Academy has developed and launched the Accessible
Training Portal (ATP), a dedicated platform to provide a learningfriendly and accessible environment for people living with visual
impairments and print disabilities. The ATP is designed to be acatalyst for achieving the SDGs by prioritising inclusivity anduniversal access to IP education. This is achieved through theimplementation of W3C Accessibility Standards and compliancewith its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The IP eLearning Center aims to make WIPO’s IP eLearning
inclusive, ensuring that VIPs can navigate and benefit from the IP
eLearning courses with ease. The General Course on Intellectual
Property is currently offered in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese,
Russian and Spanish, with the broader ambition being to provide
a comprehensive suite of IP and non-IP courses, as well as
accommodate WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) course infour languages.

The ATP is designed to bea catalyst for achieving theSDGs by prioritising inclusivity
and universal access to
IP education

This pioneering service has benefited youth who are VIP bybroadening accessible learning in general as well as that concerning
IP in particular. Between 2013 and 2024, a total of 4 397 young people
between the ages of 16 and 34 participated, making use of materials in
the above-mentioned six languages. The majority were women (56%).

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Joint Master’s programmes
The WIPO Academy offers joint Master’s programmes in IP(including LL.M. programmes), in co-operation with universities
and IP offices across the world. The duration of these programmes
typically ranges from 12 to 18 months, and the curricula are
jointly developed by the WIPO Academy and respective partner
institutions.

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The WIPO Young Experts
Programme (YEP) aims totrain the next generationof IP leaders to help build
innovation ecosystems
worldwide

WIPO summer schools for university
students and young professionals
WIPO summer schools offer university students and young
professionals an opportunity to acquire deeper knowledge of IP and
how it can be used as a tool for sustainable development. They also
help learners understand WIPO’s role in the provision of global IP
services.
All summer schools share a common curriculum, format andduration, with some offering varying degrees of specialisation incertain areas of IP. Participants are exposed to multiple aspectsof IP, including the international nature of IP protection and theinterface between IP and other disciplines. The programme takes
an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented approach through lectures,
simulations, group discussions, panel discussions and case studies.

WIPO Young Experts Programme
The WIPO Young Experts Programme (YEP) aims to train the next
generation of IP leaders to help build innovation ecosystems
worldwide. Over the course of two years, the programme mentors
young, talented individuals, equipping them with both theoreticalknowledge and practical skills in IP. The goal is for participants toapply their expertise effectively within their respective countries
and regions. There are 22 Young Experts working in various sectors
within WIPO.

The summer schools are aimed at university students and young
professionals with a business and law background. They alsocater to government officials whose duties may require them tounderstand how the international IP system functions and its
intersection with other policy areas such as health, climate change
and agriculture.

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