IP P®OSPE©TIVE

Chicago-Kent Law School, a member institution of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), will offer the first multidisciplinary Masters program in Intellectual Property Management and Markets in the United States. The IAM blog first broke the news to me, as Joff Wild wrote last week that Ron Laurie, long time advocate of and expert on the CIPO movement, apprised him of the new offering.  I had caught wind of such an interdisciplinary program in the works at an institution in the UC system as a result of Ron Laurie’s work, but this is a pleasant surprise.  It wasn’t until today that I had a chance to review the program on Chicago-Kent’s website:

The program purports to offer courses titled

• Protecting IP
• Managing the Creative Process
• IP Assessment
• Acquiring IP
• IP and Business Strategy
• Global IP Management
• Maximizing IP Value

The program also offers a Capstone Course involving experiential learning, including the creation of a strategic IP plan for a real company and presentation of that plan to the company’s board. 

The offering of this program is continued proof that the role of IP management and monetization systems is becoming increasingly influential in U.S. corporate decision-making processes.  The program’s focus is obviously to prepare business leaders for a knowledge-based economy. Additionally, law firms are beginning to offer services which combine both legal and business components of IP management.  These movements are well intentioned and with great foresight for the upcoming business climate.