AI Capacity Building Workshop in IP Vietnam, DGIP Indonesia, and DIP Thailand

November 27, 2024

Three in-person workshops on AI capacity building were conducted for the IP Offices of the Vietnam (IP Vietnam, October 1-4), Indonesia (DGIP, October 22-25), and Thailand (DIP, October 28-31), with the assistance of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).

The workshop aims to develop practical AI literacy within IP offices, inspiring innovation and adaptability while serving as a pivotal starting point for their AI journey. This will be achieved through the following objectives:

• Build Foundational Knowledge of AI: Equip participants with an understanding of essential AI concepts and the foundational knowledge necessary to comprehend the mechanisms and potential of AI systems.
• Develop Practical Skills Through Pilot Systems: Provide hands-on experience by guiding participants in the development of two pilot systems: a trademark image similarity search system and a patent semantic prior-art search system.
• Support Sustainable AI Integration: Introduce AI systems already implemented in other IP offices as benchmarks, offering insights into best practices. Additionally, provide practical strategies for transitioning the pilot systems into fully operational and sustainable solutions.

Overall Results

A total of 116 participants attended the workshops, 42 from IP Vietnam, 40 from DGIP Indonesia and 34 from DIP Thailand. It includes 36 Trademark/GI examiners, 43 Patent examiners, and 25 IT colleagues. All participants brought their own laptops to implement the pilot systems themselves. In April, the first AI workshop was held in the Philippines (IPOPHL) with 23 participants.

The workshop objectives have been successfully met. All the participants gained valuable experience in developing pilot AI systems, contributing to their AI literacy for AI concept and AI system implementation. The hands-on exercises allowed them to develop two pilot AI systems and implement them using their own datasets. With guidance from speakers and mentors, participants delved into AI programming, gaining familiarity with the process and initiating improvements to the pilot systems together with the knowledge of the underlying background of the AI system implementation. Additionally, insights from WIPO and KIPO extended participants' understanding by sharing real-world experiences with AI systems.

Feedback from the Participants

Participants highlighted that this workshop provided valuable insights into the practical applications of AI. Many expressed confidence that the skills acquired would enhance their work, especially in improving organizational processes.

"Get a holistic view of how AI applications can be implemented in an Intellectual Property Office". -Trademark Examiner, IP Vietnam

"This workshop gave insights about AI implementation, coding, and how to model an AI tool."  -Patent Examiner, DGIP Indonesia

"This training is incredibly useful and enjoyable. The combination of informative lectures and interactive activities makes it a great learning experience. I'm confident that I'll be able to put these skills to good use in the future." - Patent Examiner, DIP Thailand

"The content of this study is very useful to my organization. I, as a patent examiner who had never learned about AI before, was able to understand more in this lesson. I will use what I learned in this workshop to improve my organization." - Patent Examiner, DIP Thailand

"This training was not only enjoyable but also highly informative. As someone with little IT background and having been in a system development project, at that time I did not really understand how the system worked in sequence. However, after completing the training, I have a much clearer understanding and I am confident that I will apply the knowledge I have gained to enhance my future work." - Patent Examiner, DIP Thailand

Key Activities and Takeaways for the participants

The training had 7 clusters of learning outputs.

1. Engaged in practical exercises using a pilot trademark image similarity search system.
2. Practiced with a pilot semantic patent prior-art search system.
3. Successfully migrated two online systems to a local environment.
4. Outlined key considerations for the deployment of a fully functional AI system.
5. Discussed AI concepts and strategies for adoption.
6. Participants’ Group Activity with implementing AI systems themselves using what they have learned
7. Insights and outcomes from participants.