TLO-35626 Topic of Current Interest in Information and Knowledge Management, 1-8 cr

Implementation TLO-35626 2017-01

Description

Intellectual and Technology Assets Management

Visiting lecturer: Roberto Castagno

4 cr Introductory course on the topic. No prerequisites are required. Suitable for all TUT/TAMK/UTA students (Finnish students, international degree students, exchange students) and students at the open university. The course will address the following topics:

- Intellectual and technology assets as building blocks of a knowledge based economy
- Patents and other forms of intellectual property rights: an overview. How to read a patent, and how much does it cost to get one.
- Patents as a tool for managing Innovation: form ownership to control.
- Start-ups and MVP: could your Minimum Viable Product be your Most Valuable Patent? What are the patents-related questions that your investors or buyers will ask from your start-up?
- From the logistics of things to the logistics of ideas: managing technology assets.

The learning will include formal lectures, real-life case studies and classroom discussions, individual reading and group work (1 case study followed by a presentation). The course evaluation will be based on a written exam and on the grading of the group work.

The lecturer, Roberto Castagno is an engineer and PhD in telecommunications who discovered the world of patents 10 years ago and got excited about the logistics of ideas. He is now the Head of IPR Services at TECH in Nokia Technologies, and serves as a lecturer and consultant on innovation management matters to universities, learning centers and to the Italian embassy to Finland. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertocastagno

Lessons

Assessment scale

Numerical evaluation scale (0-5)

Requirements

A group work (one case study followed by a presentation) and a final exam

Additional information of course implementation

Intellectual and Technology Assets Management in an extended edition of the course organized first time in spring 2017 as TTA-15156 Changing Subject Course of Industrial Management: Intellectual and Technology Assets Management. Thus, also Industrial Engineering and Management students are encouraged to take the course, and it will be accepted to the study modules similarly to the TTA-15156 course.

The course deals with the "Logistics of Ideas"

Open innovation and knowledge-based business models are becoming dominant in the creation of value from innovation and technology. The management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has become an essential enabler for a knowledge-based economy. Patents, copyrights, trade secret, know-how are tools that turn intangibles - such as "innovation", "technology", "knowledge" - into tradable assets.

Unfortunately, IPR make the headlines in association to litigation and high-profile "patent wars", and academic and educational effort on IPR is often confined to law schools. In reality, IPR competence is not important just for lawyers, but it is a crucial skill for engineers and business managers, as well. The management of technology and intellectual assets is an increasingly critical aspect of operations for all kinds of businesses, from start-ups to large corporations. This "Logistics of Ideas" is as important for the knowledge-based economy as the traditional logistics was for the economy based on physical products.

Upon completing the course, the students will have a basic understanding of the role of Intellectual Property Rights in the operations of technology businesses, as well as overview of the toolbox available to them in order to manage and control intangible assets.