Welcome back everyone to another new and exciting year with IP Osgoode! We would like to start the new year by showcasing one of our core programs, Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program (“IP Intensive”). We invite all 1L and 2L Osgoode students to join IP Osgoode at Osgoode’s Clinical Education and Intensive Programs General Information Session and Fair today from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
The information session will kick off in the Moot Court with a brief overview of the application process and an introduction by the Program Directors to the 14 exciting and innovative programs available for next year. Following the information session, students will have the opportunity to speak to the Program Directors and past students of the programs at the Information Fair in the Helliwell Centre (room 1014). Look for IP Osgoode’s booth at the fair where you can find out more information about the IP Intensive and hear about past students’ experiences.
If you want to read more about the different placement organizations and the students’ personal experiences in the IP Intensive then please visit IP Osgoode’s website and subscribe to IP Osgoode’s weekly e-newsletter, the IPIGRAM. Featuring this week on the IPilogue and in this’s week’s issue of the IPIGRAM are reflective blogs written by students who were enrolled in the IP Intensive program this past fall term. The reflective blogs not only provide a personal perspective on each student’s experience but also offer an insider’s glimpse of the types of projects and work culture that each student was exposed to at their respective placement organization.
We are excited to announce that Adjunct Professors Bob Tarantino and Dan Ciraco will be the Acting Program Directors for the IP Intensive for the fall 2015 term. Respected and held in high regard by the IP community, both bring a wealth of practical expertise and knowledge to the IP Intensive program that guarantees an enriching and valuable experience for our students. Both adjunct professors will be on hand at the general information sessions and fair today, so don’t miss a chance to meet them and speak to them about the IP Intensive.
The online application form for the intensive and clinical programs will be opened today through the MyOsgoode portal. The application deadline is January 21, 2015 at 4:00 pm.
Each year we try to build upon what we accomplished in previous years of the IP Intensive and offer our students an even more enriched and engaging experience. For the fall 2014 term, we partnered with two new placement organizations: AstraZeneca Canada Inc. and Cineplex Entertainment and welcomed back our returning placement organizations from last year: Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada, CBC/Radio-Canada, SOCAN, Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX) at Stanford University, The Globe and Mail, ventureLAB, TEVA Canada Limited, and TVO.
The IP Intensive is a unique program that gives students practical, experiential education in a workplace setting for an entire term in lieu of being in the classroom. Our students gain valuable practical experience which will assist them in obtaining employment after law school, and some of our students’ research in the program has been published in the Intellectual Property Journal (IPJ).
The IP Intensive program kicked off the first two weeks in September with class seminars featuring experts from the IP community. The seminars covered a wide variety of topics, from “Collective Copyright Administration” to “Intellectual Property Reform Process”, from “IP Litigation & Remedies” to “Effective Protection of Innovation through an International Patent Strategy”, to name just a few. Some of the experts our IP Intensive students interacted and engaged in stimulating discussions with included a Supreme Court of Canada judge, a Federal Court judge, the CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Chair of the Trade-marks Opposition Board, the Director of the Copyright & International Trade Policy Branch at Canadian Heritage, a U.S. IP litigation expert, in-house counsels and top executives from a broad range of industries, and practitioners from major Canadian law firms.
Throughout the term, the students met with Professor David Vaver and me periodically to discuss topics related to intellectual property law, share their experiences at their placement, and participate in a cross-pollination of ideas. At the end of the externship period, the students returned to Osgoode to lead their own seminar on a topic of their choice.
The placement, together with weekly discussions and seminars, a major research paper, blogging exercises, and a seminar presentation, provides students with a comprehensive examination of important practical aspects of intellectual property law and technology.
If you are interested in participating as a placement organization, please do not hesitate to get in touch with IP Osgoode at iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca