Intellectual Property Literacy: A National Intellectual Property Lifelong Learning Program

Abstract

The article is devoted to studying issues of the formation and implementation of the national program of lifelong learning of intellectual property to increase the level of literacy and the culture of respect for the rights of creators among ordinary citizens. It has been established that the level of literacy of ordinary citizens in the field of intellectual property is interconnected with the development of the state's economy and its place in the rankings (Global Creativity Index, List 301). The general state of the level of literacy and legal culture in the field of intellectual property is highlighted. The impact of war on public manifestations of creative abilities and tools of commercializing intellectual property rights to defeat the aggressor is analysed. The expediency of developing and implementing a national lifelong learning program for intellectual property in Ukraine in the post-war period is substantiated. Three main areas of this program are offered. When determining the first direction — education of schoolchildren — the practical experience of implementing the author's training programs in individual educational institutions is analysed. It is proposed to use complex tools to create a basic program of integrated classes and courses on intellectual property for schoolchildren, considering their age, interests, and needs for knowledge in this area. When defining the second direction — professional training of specialists in the field of intellectual property, attention is drawn to introducing a separate specialty, Intellectual property, among specific categories and, subsequently, its unjustified exclusion from the general list. The negative consequences for the content of educational programs in the field of «intellectual property» and the negative consequences associated with the cancellation of specific categories and their inclusion in the «law» and «management» specialties are analysed. Attention is also drawn to the cancellation of the decision on the mandatory teaching of the discipline «intellectual property» for students' diverse specialties. The third direction of the program is determined by the implementation of informal education, which will allow mastering the basics of literacy in the field of intellectual property at any age, with any primary education, from any direction which will interest the average consumer. The importance of developing basic programs and separate training is emphasized, considering the specifics of interests, the difference in the primary education of potential listeners, their age, and the basic needs for mastering information about intellectual property.