A four-day, intensive training course developed by Windsor Law professor Wissam Aoun will offer certification in patent practice, the first of its kind in Canada.

The Certificate in Patent Practice, funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) as part of its Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Clinics Program, is being developed for — and offered free of charge to — Canadian law students.

The Certificate in Patent Practice will be held from May 4 to 7 at the Windsor Hall building on UWindsor’s downtown campus, and will cover the fundamental principles of patent practice. The curriculum covers such topics as inventor interviewing, searching, reporting, drafting, and patent prosecution.

In line with ISED’s goal of creating IP capacity across Canada, the purpose of this course is to provide law students with fundamental and practical knowledge of the key aspects of patent practice, which they will take with them into their careers in order to support Canada’s growing innovation economy. Students who complete the course will receive a Certificate in Patent Practice issued by the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.

The curriculum will offer a combination of pre-program readings and assignments to complement the lecture sessions, including a number of guest lecturers from Canada and the United States teaching alongside Windsor Law faculty. Former Justice Roger Hughes will deliver the keynote presentation.

“The course will not only help to achieve ISED’s goal of building IP capacity across Canada, but will also fill an essential gap in Canadian legal education,” says Prof. Aoun. “There are few comprehensive IP practice programs offered in Canada. Based on Windsor Law’s success over the last decade in developing and delivering comprehensive experiential IP educational programs, many in the Canadian IP profession have supported the creation of this particular certificate.”

The Certificate in Patent Practice supports the nation’s innovators by training the next generation of Canadian IP professionals and preparing them for practice. For more information, visit the course website.

—Rachelle Prince