INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Polish Ipr Advancement: Training for All

Published: Wed 14 Nov 2007 09:04 AM
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RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHWR #2231/01 3180904
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140904Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5487
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002231
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR WMOORE
COMMERCE FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/OECA/MROGERS, JBURGESS, JKIMBALL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR PL
SUBJECT: POLISH IPR ADVANCEMENT: TRAINING FOR ALL
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
1. Summary: The Polish government has issued a higher
education guideline calling for all Polish university
students to receive instruction in intellectual property
rights (IPR). To our knowledge, this is the first time such
a step has been taken anywhere in the world. The President
of the Polish Patent Office personally championed the
measure. Although the guideline is not binding, Polish
universities appear to be taking its implementation
seriously. Among the challenges to implementation will be
finding enough instructors. IPR instruction, as envisioned
by the guideline, should increase notably awareness of
intellectual property rights in Poland, and hopefully lead to
increased respect for such rights. End summary.
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New Regulation Recommends Across-the-Board IPR Instruction
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2. A new guideline from the Polish Ministry of Science and
Higher Education added IPR awareness to the standards for
university-level education, effective October 1, 2007. The
Patent Office,s President, Alicja Adamczak, personally
lobbied both the government and academia for the measure,
according to her Chief of Staff, Ewa Nizinska-Matysiak. The
non-binding guideline recommends that universities and
technical colleges in Poland add an IPR component to all
programs of study, with the exception of theological programs
and vocational schools. IPR instruction is mandatory for
biology and biotechnology programs.
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Warsaw University Plans Significant Implementation
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3. Universities are studying how to implement the new
guideline. EconOff spoke with Konstanty Wojtaszczyk, the
Deputy Rector for Student Affairs at one of Poland,s premier
institutions of higher education, Warsaw University (UW). UW
plans to require a minimum of 30 hours of IPR instruction,
with a recommendation of an additional 30 hours of enrichment
activities, for a total of 60 hours. Degree-seeking
undergraduate students will probably receive the instruction
in their third year of studies. IPR instruction will be a
university-wide requirement, but each department will
structure a course according to the needs of their particular
programs.
4. Wojtaszczyk noted that the guideline only applies to
students who will have entered the university in 2007 or
later. Since the first group of affected students will not
reach their third year until 2009, UW has some time to
grapple with an implementation problem: a shortage of
qualified IPR instructors. At present only 10 potential
instructors have been identified from the UW faculty (in the
economics, law and management departments). UW enrolls
nearly 60,000 students.
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Supporting Measure Promised to Train IPR Teachers
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5. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education is planning
an initiative in 2008 to increase availability of IPR
instructors, according to the Patent Office's
Nizinska-Matysiak. She told EconOff that EU Human Capital
funds, which are disbursed by the Ministry, would pay for
both a program to produce IPR instructors, and allow their
subsequent teaching activities to be provided free of cost to
colleges and universities throughout Poland.
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IPR Awareness Activities Continue
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6. Post has informed the AmCham in Poland about the new
guideline, and continues to facilitate the American business
community's efforts to boost IPR education. The AmCham is
organizing an IPR seminar on November 15, 2007 through the UW
Law Students, Association, and has offered assistance in
organizing academic coursework on IPR. The Polish Patent
Office is also planning two conferences to heighten awareness
on the academic level, in addition to its annual IPR
conference.
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Comment
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WARSAW 00002231 002 OF 002
7. The introduction of this guideline makes Poland a leader
in Europe in advancing outreach on IPR issues to the next
generation. Poland is pushing toward becoming a
knowledge-based economy, and is anxious to instill in youth
the corresponding understanding of intellectual property
protections.
HILLAS
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