In a guest post, Jose Amorim of the MARQUES Education Team summarises some of the learning opportunities offered by the EUIPO Academy this year:

EUIPO’s Academy Activities and Learning Catalogue for the current year has just been launched and I recommend the IP world to have a look at it.

Webinars

I am sure that several topics will be considered interesting since the diversity of subjects is immense (an average of 20 webinars are produced on a quarterly basis) covering a wide range of topics for all types of audience (from basic to advanced contents).

For instance, every quarter there are two webinars on case law: EUIPO Board of Appeal and General Court/Court of Justice decisions. These are popular and useful for practitioners because they have the information summarised by the experts.

Out of the 82 webinars presented in the course of 2018, 19 had a certificate. Certificates are an added value for practitioners who receive credits for courses in EUIPO’s portal. And the webinars boast a 90% satisfaction rate overall.

Currently, EUIPO’s Academy is working on creating “interactive webinars”. The idea is to have a brief presentation on an IP topic, and during the webinar or afterwards, the audience can ask questions regarding the presentation directly to the speaker.

To access webinars and be permanently updated on contents, it is highly recommended to subscribe to Academy’s newsletter. Webinars always take place on Tuesdays.

IP Course for Paralegals

There is also an IP Course for Paralegals that has become increasingly popular since it addresses very specific and practical needs of users. This course, which is free of charge, takes place between 28 and 30 October in Alicante having as its goal to increase operational efficiency, not just of paralegals and practitioners but also of the EUIPO.

MARQUES has been present in the ECP3 Academy e-learning portal project in order to convey the perspective of Users Associations.

EUIPO Trade Mark and Design Education Programme

A new initiative in the Academy is the EUIPO Trade Mark and Design Education Programme, which is a training programme for IP practitioners. It is a practical programme, delivered by the EUIPO staff, leading IP professionals and academics.

The Programme focuses on the interaction between the EUIPO and IP practitioners in trade mark and design registration and prosecution and is aimed at increasing knowledge of the proceedings and practice of the EUIPO to improve the quality of the applications and submissions before the EUIPO and to provide sound bases to develop successful strategies for registering, defending or contesting EU IP rights using the EUIPO´s tools and systems.

Enrolment in the EUIPO Trade Mark and Design Education Programme takes place between May and June and the next course will start in September. MARQUES has been deeply involved in the Programme, providing speakers for the 150-hour course and members of the Examination Board and the Steering Committee.

Jose Amorim is a lawyer with Gastão da Cunha Ferreira Lda and a member of the MARQUES Education Team