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Course: The Business of Patents
Self-Paced Online Course: $ 995
Estimated Study Hours: 60

Patents are big business today. Corporations large and small are locked in patent wars, and patent strategy is becoming a core part of corporate strategy in almost all the high-tech sectors. Not restricted to patent attorneys, and patent professionals, this course brings patents into the mainstream business world.

The course investigates how patents are bought, sold, valued and used as weapons of litigation in the new battlefields for corporate competition. Filled with videos, this course introduces patents and intellectual property, discussed trademarks, then dives into patents, patent prosecution, patent claims, patent infringement, validity, patent valuation, patent monetization, patent wars and the patent landscape, patent strategies for corporate product marketers (operating companies), patent & I.P. strategies for startups, patent sales and other I.P. transactions, injunctions, non-practicing entities, defensive patent aggregators, the ITC, licensing, cross licensing and FRAND licensing.

One commentator recently stated that 'CEO's of tomorrow are going to have to be able to do more than just spell "IP"". So, in-depth understanding of the business of patents is a key skill for executives but this does not mean that all the CEO's of tomorrow will have been trained as patent attorneys. After taking this course, you will have a strong understanding of patents, and have the skill to define and decide patent strategies for organizations large and small.

Learning Objectives

In taking this course, students gain a comprehension of the following:

How patents can be valued and the various ways patents can be monetized.
The nature of patents as weapons of litigation, and the role of the various players in the patent landscape, including NPE's, defensive aggregators and patent pools.
Several of the key patent strategies adopted by startups, large corporations, NPE's and other types of organizations.
How patent sale transactions are valued, negotiated and structured. Understand each of the key provisions of a patent purchase agreement (patent sale agreement).
The essentials rights associated with patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights.
The patent prosecution process, the scope of patentable subject matter (what is and is not patentable), and the role of patent claims under U.S. federal law.
How patents are infringed, how infringement cases are handled, and some of the key remedies available from the courts.
How patent sales, licenses and a variety of technology transactions are valued and structured.

Modules

This course comprises the following learning modules:

Patent Strategies
Patents & Intellectual Property
Technology Licensing

Videos, eTextbooks and Rich Media Content

The course materials are provided in a range of compelling rich media formats comprising videos, electronic textbooks, audio recordings, interactive quizzes and links to online content. As a wealth of valuable educational videos and other materials are publicly available online, we supplement our courses with links to these reference materials where we find they are relevant to the course and will be of value to the student.

What's Included In the Price?

All the content comprising the course is included in the price.  This includes access to the textbooks which are provided online with ereader software--unless you want to buy a paper-version of the textbook, you will not be required to buy any books or additional materials.

What you Will Need

To access the online materials you need some way of getting online. Our materials are compatible with the major platforms including Windows, Android and Apple. You will need a PC, laptop or tablet and an Internet connection.

Self-Paced Learning

You are free to take the course in your own time, on your own terms--on whatever schedule suits you best.  Your enrollment in the course will continue for 12 months.  If you need further time after the 12 months has expired, please request an extension. Please note: the textbook publishers restrict the online licenses to 180 days, so your access to the textbooks will expire 180 days after you start the course.

When You Have Questions

You will be provided with a tutor who will be your primary point of contact with SVBS.  Each course module has an online question and answer forum. When you have a question, you can check the forum to see if the question has been asked before by other students, and the answer provided. If the question is new, submit it in the forum and it will be answered by our faculty, normally within a few hours. SVBS has an escalation process that ensures that even the most advanced, difficult questions can be answered--ultimately, the question can be answered by a leading expert in the field if it cannot be handled by our regular faculty. 

Admission Qualifications

We do not want to restrict our courses to an elite few. Our approach is to make our courses available to any student, any time, anywhere in the World. You will not be asked to provide any transcripts of previous academic qualifications.  If you're interested in learning what we're teaching, you're welcome to become a student at SVBS. 

Completion Requirements

You will take a quiz comprising multiple-choice questions in order to complete each course module. You can take the quiz as many times as you like, and the questions are designed to be educational in their own right. However, you have to answer all the questions correctly in order to successfully complete the course.

Certificates
 
Upon successful completion of each course, you will be awarded a certificate either by Silicon Valley Business School, or another University or Business School--this depends on whether you enrolled directly with SVBS or via one of our University partners.