Patenting in Life Sciences: a hands on workshops

June 11 and June 12, 2012 / Centre Loewenberg, Murten

Over the last decades the field of life sciences has raised to a productive source of technological innovation. Its output is at the origin of a growing amount of commercial products and potential markets. Along with this economic development, issues in intellectual property have become important to researchers in biosciences. During their career they are more and more confronted to questions related to patenting and are, by the majority, rather unprepared to handle the situation professionally.
This appraisal was the incentive for the Forum for Genetic Research of the Swiss Academy of Sciences to organize a PhD-course dedicated to patents and their implementation in the field of life sciences. The goal of the course is to provide the students with basic information and hands on experience in the management of patenting issues. The lectures will gather inputs related to the following topics: Basic knowledge on intellectual property and patenting, patent law, challenges related to intellectual property in a spin-off company and ethical considerations in patenting. In addition, the participants will be offered to discover new job opportunities in the field of intellectual property management. Subsequently the attendees will participate in workshops, where they will gain hands on experience in the topics described.
At the end of the course, the students will master basic knowledge in patenting and will have answers to the following questions: How does patenting in life sciences affect – my career? – academic research? – the society?
 
This year’s edition is organized in collaboration with the following doctoral schools:

• CUSO, doctoral programs Staromics and Microbiology
• Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern
• Life Science Graduate School, Zürich

For PhD-students not participating in one of the doctoral schools listed above we will find special arrangements.
 
Registration for doctoral students of CUSO: Biologie.cuso.ch/staromics/activities
 
Registration for doctoral students of other doctoral schools and postdocs: http://www.geneticresearch.ch/d/Produkte/Veranstaltungen/Patent_2012_d.php
Deadline for registration is April 30th, 2012
 
Programme