Prof. Vladia Borisova PhD is the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and the director of this new, outstanding degree program – a flagship project in the academic education of IP Management. The aim is to train highly qualified specialists who are proficient in modern methods and tools for identifying, protecting, and managing intellectual property.

In the master’s program, students acquire knowledge of industrial property objects such as inventions, utility models, integrated circuits, and know-how relevant to technological development and innovation, as well as trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. It also discusses the means of protection of objects in conditions of unfair competition and in case of infringement of rights to them, technology transfer and their economic realization, as well as the specific features of copyright and its importance for the functioning of the industrial property system.

The program is designed for:

  • Practitioners (business, public administration, non-profit organizations)
  • Entrepreneurs and consultants
  • Academics and researchers

This program offers a multicultural environment for teaching and learning, and its lecturers are academics, specialists and experts from the European Patent Office, CEIPI and I3PM. For example:

  • Erica Smith, Committee Chair for SME at I3PM teaches:
    • Particular economic characteristics of intellectual property rights.
    • Commercial monopoly – nature and limitations.
    • Economic benefits of commercial monopoly, importance for the functioning of creative industries
  • Owais H. Shaikh, Committee Chair for Metaverse at I3PM teaches:
    • Objects of intellectual property as fixed intangible assets of the enterprise
    • Nature and characteristics of intangible assets.
    • Determination of the value of the business asset for the enterprise.
  • Nina Petkovska, Committee Chair für IP Portfolio Management at I3PM teaches:
    • Basic principles in the management of intellectual property as a business asset.
    • Developing an intellectual property strategy.
    • Defining the enterprise’s portfolio of intellectual property objects.

In this Master’s program there will also be lecturers from CEIPI IP Business Academy, like Prof. Dr. Alexander Wurzer, he teaches IP strategy, IP valuation and IP in digital business models. Successful graduates receive an EU diploma from the University including a certificate of completion from the European Patent Office.

Trainees have the opportunity to participate for a period of 1 year in an internship program (Pan-European Seal Program) at the European Patent Office (EPO) or the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which also provides the opportunity for future professional realization in European Institutions.