Nothing makes IP lawyers feel more unloved than the overwhelming propensity of politicians, journalists, and indeed practically everyone else to get their intellectual property rights mixed up and talk about “patenting a brand” or “copyrighting an idea”.
So it is nice to see that the brand new “T-Level” courses in science include an IP component on the syllabus. Students who complete these courses should enter the workplace with at least the basic knowledge of intellectual property which everybody in modern business really needs to have.
“T-Levels” are new technical qualifications available to 16-year-olds in England. Roughly speaking, they are more workplace-based than A-levels but more classroom-based than an apprenticeship.
The government says: “T Levels are new courses which follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A levels. These 2-year courses, which launched September 2020, have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training or study.”
Presumably, employers and businesses have said that students entering work, further training or study need to know something about intellectual property. They are right.
I prepared some notes for students studying for the T-Level in Laboratory Science at Penwith College in Penzance. The examples are slanted towards the laboratory science option, but should be useful to all students on all the science options. They are available to download for free.
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