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Development of Inventions and Creative Ideas OpenCourseWare: A Free MIT Graduate Level Course on Patent Law and the Rights of Engineers

Published Jan 15, 2009

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers this OpenCourseWare titled 'Development of Inventions and Creative Ideas,' which is designed for all engineering students. This OpenCourseWare comes from the actual MIT course of the same name that looks at the history of scientific and engineering inventions as they relate to public and private rights.

Development of Inventions and Creative Ideas: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Graduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
No Yes No

Development of Inventions and Creative Ideas: Course Description

Engineers, who often invent lucrative new technologies, must maintain an awareness of United States patent law. Modern business practices surrounding invention and employee-employer interactions make this an especially pertinent topic. Some engineers may even need to defend their intellectual property in court or to serve the court as an expert witness. This course looks in-depth at how the United States came to this point in patent history and where it is going. Specific topics include patent law; development and origin of the American patent system; patent system modernization; the role of the courts and patent office; and the rights, obligations and problems of inventors. Engineering students of all disciplines could learn from this course. The actual graduate-level MIT course on patent law is taught by Professor Robert Rines and Dr. Dedric Carter in a discussion-style format.

This OpenCourseWare includes assignments, an online downloadable version of the course textbook and a link to a relevant article concerning Professor Rines. If you're interested in taking this free course, visit the creative idea and invention development course page.

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