Hi everyone! Jitesh here. Last week, I\u2019d talked about studying abroad\n in general. This week I turn my focus to the reason why I\u2019m here at \nHanken: my master\u2019s specialization! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Master\u2019s of Science in \nEconomics and Business Administration with specialization in \nIntellectual Property Law is quite a lot of fancy sounding words, right?\n But this begs the question: what is it that we actually do in this \ndegree course? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve tried to turn this blog post into an FAQ of sorts. Let\u2019s start with the basics: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is Intellectual Property law? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s think of some stuff you might do…. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine\n you wrote a poem, and you want to make the world know that it\u2019s yours; \nif you could get some money out of it, that would be even better. Also, \nyou would want to make sure that people copying or publishing it have \nyour permission….. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or maybe you invented something, and you \ndon\u2019t want others to simply copy your concept and make money from that \ninvention without your permission….. <\/p>\n\n\n\n or maybe (and this one is\n something businesspeople would most likely relate to) you have a brand \nname which is recognized by people, and you don\u2019t want anyone else to do\n any shady stuff using that brand name…… <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026…….what each of\n these scenarios describes is a form of \u201cproperty\u201d which is not really \nphysical property. You can\u2019t really say that you physically \u201cown\u201d a \npoem, or a brand name, or an invention in the way you own a house or a \ncar. Still, all of this stuff is valuable. This valuable stuff is \nreferred to as Intellectual Property (IP). The branch of law which deals\n with this is called (surprise surprise ) IP law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hmm. This sounds like specific law related stuff. Why are you studying this at a business school? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Great question! But there\u2019s more to this than meets the eye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, Hanken has a full-fledged Department of Accounting and Commercial law (more info here<\/a>). Any area which might have the intersection of law and business, would probably be a field of interest for the department. IP law is one such area, and students at Hanken are free to take other courses offered by the Department related to labour law, tax law, corporate finance law and corporate governance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, IP law \nis inherently commercial in nature. Any person who has IP would want to \nmake money from it (except those who only want recognition for their \ncreativity). Now, for helping people make the best commercial use of IP,\n it would be essential to know how this process of commercialization \nwould actually work in the real world. This is where the Hanken \nenvironment comes in handy! You can learn about traditional management \ndisciplines, like finance or marketing or supply chains etc. You could \nmeet and interact with both experienced businesspersons and start-up \ncreators, who would definitely be interested in creating and protecting \nIP assets. These kinds of possibilities are simply not present in any \ntraditional law school, and this is one of the reasons which made me \nprefer this master\u2019s degree over a traditional law school master\u2019s \ndegree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay. So what are the courses like? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IP law \ntrack courses are made in a way that we first understand the basics of \nIP law and then go on to apply it to the business context. The first \nyear is about learning the concepts of IP law, and how they are \nunderstood and implemented across the world. The second year is mainly \nabout learning how to conduct research in commercial law and eventually \nwriting the thesis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The elective courses are of a broad variety. There\u2019s IP related courses, including online training and summer schools, and there\u2019s also the chance to participate in moot court competitions. I mention the moot court specifically because I was part of Hanken\u2019s team for this academic year, and we managed to actually win a prize while competing against other Nordic Schools (read about our experience here<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other than that, all the courses at Hanken are open for master\u2019s students, subject to them meeting the pre-requisites, if any. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about the professors? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the helm of things is our professor Nari Lee (find her profile here<\/a>). She\u2019s got vast experience in teaching IP law and has worked in different locations across the globe. Her serious body of work is complemented with a jovial nature. She loves to pepper her lectures with humour and that\u2019s something which makes learning easier and more fun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the course, the emphasis is \non broad concepts and international aspects of IP law. In keeping with \nthis objective, we have international guest lecturers who come and talk \nabout their particular jurisdiction and legal system. For example, last \nsemester we had Professors Jane Ginsburg and Sharon Sandeen from the US \nand Professor Annette Kur from Germany teaching us about their areas of \nexpertise. A simple google search on any of these names will tell you \nthat it\u2019s a privilege for any law student just to be in the same room as\n them! In the coming period in March, we will have the course of IP \nStrategy for Business where we will get to interact with businesspersons\n who work with IP issues in the corporate environment. I really look \nforward to that! <\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds interesting. Is there any particular recognition for this course? How do I know that it\u2019s legit? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, over and above the accreditations<\/a> which Hanken has as a business school, the IP law course is also recognized under the Pan-European Seal, which essentially means that the course meets the requirements of the European Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office. For a business school course to be recognized in this manner is an achievement in itself! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from this, the course is conducted in close collaboration with the IPR University Center (more info here<\/a>) . It is a joint institute of six leading universities of Finland, coming together to promote research and awareness of IP rights in Finland. Most of the Center\u2019s activities are held at Hanken, and we have the opportunity to participate in lectures and workshops conducted by researchers and practitioners of IP working in law firms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So what kind of career prospects does the course have? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well,\n this depends totally on what you\u2019re looking for. IP law is still an up \nand coming field across the world, and the unique nature of the degree \ncan open up opportunities in both the business and legal spaces. The EU \nis always coming up with new rules and regulations related to IP laws \nand their impact on changes in technology, so demand for IP \nprofessionals should only increase in the future. Given Hanken\u2019s \ninternational outlook, coupled with the internationally oriented \nsyllabus, this master\u2019s degree would suitably prepare you for roles \noutside the EU as well! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cool! When and how do I apply? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, you can check out the course\u2019s webpage<\/a> for all the practical information about the course and its application procedure. You’ll find the relevant details and contacts there as well! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for reading! I hope you found this blog informative. For anything course related or Hanken related, feel free to drop me an email at jitesh.gupta@student.hanken.fi <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi everyone! Jitesh here. Last week, I\u2019d talked about studying abroad in general. This week I turn my focus to the reason why I\u2019m here at Hanken: my master\u2019s specialization! Master\u2019s of Science in Economics and Business Administration with specialization in Intellectual Property Law is quite a lot of fancy sounding words, right? But this … <\/p>\n