- The 2024 FICPI SEAD culminated in September 2024 with the second in-person segment in Singapore.
- The most-recent cohort of the WIPO-FICPI International Patent Training Drafting Program (IPDTP) concluded in November 2024.
SEAD course
SEAD is FICPI’s flagship drafting course. For more than 20 years, it has offered students from around the world a unique, high level patent drafting training course to teach the preparation of patent specifications and claims. It provides two in-person teaching weeks in small groups, complementing remote learnings and to examine how claims drafted might fare in litigation.
The 2024 SEAD course in Singapore was FICPI’s first since the Philippines hosted in 2020.
29 students completed the course and all received the FICPI Academy Certificate of Attendance. Tutoring is delivered by experienced practitioners from various jurisdictions including Europe, USA, and Canada. The tutors represent technical fields from electrical engineering, mechanics, biology, and chemistry. They all have experience in teaching and tutoring our patent drafting courses.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore is FICPI’s sponsoring partner and the host for the meetings in a three-year agreement with FICPI.
You can find more information about the 2024 SEAD course at https://ficpi.org/eventstraining/SEAD-course-2024
The 2025 session is under preparation and will be advertised in early 2025.
WIPO partnership
The WIPO partnership is a separate initiative, with a focus on providing patent drafting training for students from developing nations who are towards the start of their careers and is aimed primarily at countries that currently have a low level of filings or limited resources to implement training.
The 2024 four-phase course included distance learning in April/May, an in-person lecture and workshop phase in Geneva in June, a distance mentoring phase in August/October 2024 and a final exam in November. Certificates jointly signed by the WIPO and FICPI Academies were delivered to the students.
The course was attended by 38 students from 30 different countries, with professional backgrounds that included tech transfer offices, IP administrators, law firms, industry and innovators.
FICPI provided two instructors, Anupam Trivedi, a partner at K&S Partners in India, and myself.
After three years of this unique public/private cooperation in patent training, FICPI and WIPO are now discussing how to further improve the operation of the course and strengthen cooperation.
If you are interested in learning more about the FICPI and WIPO Patent Drafting courses, https://welc.wipo.int/ipdtp/.
Future plans for courses
In 2025 we will explore how we might expand FICPI’s drafting training programs to other regions, including Europe, South America and India, with the possible support of sister/local organisations. Stay tuned for more information as those plans get firmer.
Trainee exchange program
Following promising input from FICPI members, this program and the dedicated exchange platform that is part of the FICPI website will be honed and officially launched, we expect to see significant movement on this during 2025.
The FICPI Academy
The FICPI Academy has responsibility for the training and continuing education of FICPI members and others interested in the best practices of intellectual property protection.
Under FICPI’s strategic plan, The FICPI Academy focuses on providing training and education to members and potential members both in developed countries, and in countries and regions where the profession is less well developed.
If you would more information on The FICPI Academy or would like to get involved in our initiatives, please contact me at [email protected]
