World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides a free online course twice a year on general concepts of IPR. This is a very good course for for anyone who wants to know more about IPR and a must have for people working in IP field or looking to get into it.

This course covers the main areas of intellectual property, namely copyright, related rights, patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial design, plant breeders’ rights, unfair competition and international registration systems.

General Course on Intellectual Property (DL101) as it is called is a fully online course and has twelve modules which can be read online or even downloaded to read offline at your convenience.

1. Guide to Studying the Course

2. Introduction to IP

3. Copyright

4. Related Rights

5. Trademarks

6. Geographical Indications

7. Industrial Design

8. Patents

9. WIPO Treaties

10. Unfair Competition

11. Protection of New Varieties of Plants

12. Summary and Discussion on IP Rights

Registration for the Ist session of 2010 is now open and open till the 20th of February, 2010.

The 50 hour course can be completed anytime between 1st March and 15th April and is followed by an exam. This exam is an 2 hour online open book test with 40 multiple choice questions, and this test can be taken anytime between April 16-18. A beautiful certificate from WIPO Academy would be given to all successful candidates who pass the test.

To register for the course follow the steps.

1. Go to http://academy.wipo.int during registration period;

2. Select English;

3. Click on “Enroll now” on the right of the DL101 course description;

4. Click in the box next to course code which you wish to enroll for and click on “Enroll now” in the bottom of the page;

5. Click on “Confirm”;

6. Click on “Register now”

7. Fill in the registration form with your personal information; provide correct details as the Certificate will be in that name and be sent to the address provided.

8. Click on “Next” at the bottom of the page; it will tell about payment option, ignore it, those are for paid courses only.

9. Wait for the email confirming your registration.

You will be informed about when the course starts by your email.

So happy registering and studying.

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