The Latvian Patent Office has joined the Autorskola (Author school) educational platform - a project that started a year ago to provide the opportunity for school-age young people and schoolteachers to gain knowledge about copyright and related rights – by supplementing its content with information on the protection of industrial property.
The project is implemented by the Ministry of Culture (KM), the Latvian Performers’ and Producers’ Association (LaIPA), and the Copyright and Communications Consulting Agency/ Authors' Union of Latvia (AKKA/LAA) and with the financial support of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
During the first stage of the project, the educational platform www.autorskola.lv was created; teaching material on copyright and related rights and worksheets for teachers and students were developed; answers to frequently asked questions, interactive games, as well as educational videos, where well-known Latvian authors, performers and producers share their experience on intellectual property (IP) protection issues, were prepared. This spring, considering the successful results of the project and user feedback, the initiative group of the project decided to move forward by attracting new cooperation partners and inviting the Latvian Patent Office to ensure the completeness of IP information available on the platform by providing access to information and training material on the protection of trademarks, designs, and inventions (industrial property).
"We worked very actively to implement the Autorskola project creating the base of educational materials on copyright and related rights for school-age young people and schoolteachers", explains LaIPA Executive Director Liena Edvardsa, noting that the entire team involved in the project - KM, LaIPA, and AKKA/LAA - invested a lot of work to make the information on the platform easily understandable for children and young people. "However, in the course of the work, we realized that it is not the younger generation only that is interested in IP issues, but the society as a whole, including authors, performers, entrepreneurs, who are those ones directly connected with the IP field", states Liena Edvardsa. "That is why it was decided to attract new partners, expand the range of topics covered by Autorskola and hold training sessions not only for young people and teachers, but also for everyone facing IP issues."
Liena Edvardsa believes that the project makes a significant contribution to promoting public awareness. "If we first focused on school-age young people and schoolteachers, to whom we explained copyright and related rights issues, now we have the Autorskola website complemented with the information on industrial property, and separate sections for artists, entrepreneurs, and law enforcement officers. Therefore, our cooperation with the Latvian Patent Office is a valuable continuation, and we are very happy about their responsiveness and interest in getting involved in the project," says LaIPA Executive Director.
Director of the Latvian Patent Office Agris Batalauskis is also pleased to be involved in the project, saying that he still sees big problems with the general understanding of IP - why and how it should be protected: "One of the most important tasks of the Latvian Patent Office is educating the public and raising awareness of the importance of IP and its protection. It is crucial for IP creators to avoid illegal use of registered IP, counterfeiting, and fraud. However, it is equally vital to talk about it with school-age children and young people, who are future IP creators and also consumers, of course. Therefore, we are pleased to be involved in the project, which gives us the opportunity to provide information on trademarks, designs, and inventions (patents) on a broader scale."
The Director of the Latvian Patent Office emphasizes that the platform will be a good aid for students, entrepreneurs, and artists, as the information on why it is important to protect one's IP, including trademarks, designs, and inventions, is available on one portal.
Currently, the expanded autorskola.lv website provides access to the previously published methodological material and explanatory information on copyright and related rights for school-age young people and schoolteachers, supplemented with the methodological material and explanatory information on industrial property - trademarks, designs, and patents, as well as the new sections for entrepreneurs, artists (authors, performers, producers), and law enforcement officers, which include useful information on IP protection.
Autorskola is intended for everyone who is interested in IP rights - copyright, related rights, trademarks, patents, designs, and who wishes to understand, protect, and acquire IP.