October 8, 2021
WIPO Director General Daren Tang thanked Brazil, Colombia and Mexico on the margins of the WIPO Assemblies for their joint participation in the development of a new Executive Distance Learning Course on Intellectual Property and Exports (DL-730).
The Director General met with His Excellency Mr. Alexandre Guido Lopes Parola, the Permanent Representative at the Mission of Brazil to the World Trade Organization and other Economic Organization in Geneva; Mr. Andrés Barreto González, the Superintendent at the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) of Colombia; and Mr. Alfredo Rendón, the Director General of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) on October 8, 2021 to recognize their timely request and support for the development of a practical distance learning (DL) course highlighting the key role of intellectual property (IP) in the export of goods and services. Brazil, Colombia and Mexico requested the development of a course on IP and exports in 2019, following the recommendations of the Forum of Heads of Latin American IP Offices and Directors of Export Promotion Agencies in 2016 and 2018. They provided the necessary experts who prepared the course content in line with the WIPO Academy distance learning design and methodologies. The course was developed with the support of the WIPO Division for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The DL-730 adopts a practical and skills-focused approach to addressing the common IP challenges faced by exporters and export agency workers. The course explores the IP and export-related issues that arise in specific national regulatory environments for business, trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) within the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
Using real case studies from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, the course content guides participants on the cross-border and transnational matters that must be considered when protecting the IP of products and services. The case studies selected are relevant to industries considered regionally important for the export of goods and services, such as e-commerce, tourism, cultural arts, agriculture, fashion and software.
The course consists of six modules and a final written assessment covering a number of topics including:
Throughout the course, participants work towards building a practical checklist of activities that can be customized to their own export environment.
The DL-730 was designed with special features that allow the customization of the content for national use, including onsite training by IP offices and other national stakeholders such as export agencies.
In 2021, the DL-730 course was successfully piloted with over 70 participants, and validated by the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI).
The course is now open for public registration via the WIPO eLearning Center.
Register for the DL-730 CourseThe course is aimed at entrepreneurs, business owners, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), professionals involved in exporting goods and services, and senior university students. English, Portuguese and Spanish versions of the DL-730 will be offered in 2022.
Academic support is provided for the duration of the course by experienced tutors who are expert practitioners in the field of IP. Participants have five weeks to complete the 33-hour course and final assessment. Successful participants are awarded a WIPO Academy certificate.