New Harvard Business School course examines intellectual property

A new Harvard Business School (HBS) course beginning this fall will explore the intersection of intellectual property and the corporate sector.

Limited to 25 participants, the new HBS field study program “Intellectual Property for Executives” is a cross-registration course that will accept participants from graduate programs at Harvard, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The program will consist of a series of seminars in September and October that examine U.S. intellectual property law, and how intellectual property concepts like patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights can be incorporated into an overall business strategy.

In addition to the seminars, students will take part in a research project involving a global aspect of intellectual property. At the conclusion of the semester, in lieu of a final exam, the students will be required to prepare and present a paper or case study on their research.

Designed for future business executives without prior legal training, the course is geared toward those with an interest in careers in the high-tech, financial, telecommunications, entertainment, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries.

The program will be taught by Robert Pozen, HBS senior lecturer of business administration and chairman of MFS Investment Management, a U.S. –based asset management firm.

Interested students can attend an information session about the program on Sept. 3 at 3:30 p.m. in room 209 of Aldrich Hall, located on the HBS campus.

— Colleen Walsh