WIPO-U.S. Summer School on Intellectual Property


Notice for 2025 WIPO-U.S. Summer School on IP (June 2024 | Virtual Only)

Early Application Requirement for Applicants from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, or the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine:

For any applicant whose country is under U.S. sanctions, we will require a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury to allow you to participate. Applying for that license will take time, and we cannot guarantee that students from countries under sanction will be able to participate.

If you are a national of one of the above countries, please note that you must apply early to the WIPO-U.S. Summer School on IP with a deadline of December 31, 2024. No applications from individuals from U.S.-sanctioned countries for the 2025 WIPO-U.S. Summer School on IP will be accepted after this date. 

To apply, please email cip2@gmu.edu (CC summerschool.us@wipo.int) with the following attachments (all materials are required*):

      1. Applicant’s recent Curriculum Vitae
      2. Applicant’s passport
      3. Motivation letter for the U.S. Summer School on IP

The host organization (Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Arlington, VA, USA; https://cip2.gmu.edu/) will follow up with next steps. You will also be asked to submit the above materials on WIPO’s website after the formal application period begins. Please note: This process neither guarantees an approved license nor timely consideration by the branch of the U.S. government in charge of reviewing these applications. Thank you for your attention.


Flyer for 2024 WIPO-U.S. Summer School on IP
Click on image for full-size PDF flyer.

2024 WIPO-U.S. Summer School
on Intellectual Property

June 3-14, 2024
(Weekdays Only)

Virtual

View the 2024 Agenda

The Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School partnered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to host the seventh iteration of the WIPO-U.S. Summer School on Intellectual Property. We also thank USIPA for their partnership to help market this event!

This exclusive, two-week summer course was held online only to accommodate participants from all over the world. The Summer School program provides an opportunity to senior students, young professionals, and government officials to acquire deeper knowledge of each domain of IP and of the role and functions of WIPO. As WIPO’s only U.S.-based Summer School, the WIPO-U.S. Summer School program focuses on IP law in the United States of America.

The annual program consists of lectures, case studies, simulation exercises, and group discussions on selected IP topics, with an orientation towards the interface between IP and other disciplines. A certificate of participation is awarded to participants who successfully complete the program requirements (please see below).

Applications are now closed

U.S. Law Students Can Receive 3 Hours of Academic Credit From Scalia Law!
See below for details


COURSE INFORMATION

Eligibility

The Summer School is open to senior students (graduate and postgraduate students) and young professionals from any field of study or discipline. The program is designed for candidates who wish to obtain deeper knowledge of U.S. IP law. Applicants who are more senior in their field of IP law may find the WIPO-U.S. Summer School less challenging but are still welcome to apply.

There is a limited number of spots, and applicants are encouraged to apply sooner rather than later. Once the program has reached capacity with fully registered applicants (accepted by WIPO and C-IP2 and paid with C-IP2) registration will close.

If your country is under U.S. sanctions, we will need a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury to allow you to participate. Applying for that license will take time, and we cannot guarantee that students from countries under sanction will be able to participate. However, the earlier you apply the greater our chances of obtaining the required license. We recommend interested applicants applying from a country under U.S. sanctions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, or the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine) apply through WIPO as soon as possible. This neither guarantees an approved license nor timely consideration by the branch of the U.S. government in charge of reviewing these applications.

Online Registration

Registration for the course is a two-step process—please follow these instructions closely:

    1. Please visit the WIPO Summer School on IP website to register for the course: WIPO Website. Applications must be submitted online with résumés, letters of motivation, and copies of passports (or identity cards). Selected applicants will be notified via email once their application has been accepted by WIPO.
    2. Once you have received the welcome email from C-IP2 notifying you of your acceptance by WIPO and C-IP2, please visit our registration payment website (link will be sent you via email) to pay the registration fee and to finalize your registration for the course. Please note that George Mason University policy requires registration payment must be made with a VISA or Mastercard credit card.
    3. While registering, you will be asked to acknowledge an agreement regarding your participation in filmed session, being added to C-IP2’s mailing list, etc. Please read this over.

For students taking the course for academic credit, please see the “Academic Credit” section below.

Registration Fee (U.S. Dollars)*

    • Students who come from (that is, who were born in and/or are a national of) developing countries or countries in transition: US$125
    • Professionals who come from (that is, who were born in and/or are a national of) developing countries or countries in transition: US$250
    • Students who come from (that is, who were born in and/or are a national of) developed countries: US$450
    • Professionals who come from (that is, who were born in and/or are a national of) developed countries: US$750

If you are unsure whether you should pay the developing or developed country rate, please contact cip2@gmu.edu. We will follow your student or professional designation and developed or developing country designation as noted on our approved registrant list from WIPO, based on your initial application, unless the incorrect category was initially chosen, in which case we may contact you directly to correct the registration. We look at sources such as the International Monetary Fund, UN, and U.S. country categorizations to establish country statuses.

U.S. students seeking credit will pay Mason’s course credit fee instead and should see the “Academic Credit” section below.

*Please note that C-IP2 can only accept only payments via Visa credit card or Mastercard credit card.

Important Dates (*Note that dates on WIPO’s website may differ at the moment. Please abide by the dates listed below.)

    • Last day for interested applicants to submit application to WIPO: May 7, 2024
    • Deadline for accepted applicants to submit payment to C-IP2: May 20, 2024

Cancellation Policy

You may cancel on or before May 6, 2024, and receive a refund of the registration fee minus a cancellation fee of US$50. The registration fee will not be refunded for cancellations after May 6, 2024.

Certificate of Participation

A certificate of participation, signed by the Executive Director of the WIPO Academy, is awarded to participants who successfully complete the program requirements. To receive a certificate of participation, participants will be expected to be present for no less than 80% of these live sessions and take part in discussions and projects.

Interested applicants should consider their own times zones and the required commitment to 6-8 hours of live sessions between approximately 8:30am-5:30pm EDT for two weeks. Note that the WIPO-U.S. Summer School in the United States will be held live in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). [Convert time zones here to gauge availability.]

Academic Credit (U.S. Students Only)

    • U.S. law students taking this course for academic credit should still apply to the course via WIPO’s website.
    • Accepted students should then sign up for this class on Patriot Web once Summer 2024 classes are available and pay the appropriate tuition rate to Antonin Scalia Law School. Credit students will pay tuition in lieu of the registration fee listed previously.
    • Please also finalize your information on C-IP2’s payment website (link to be sent via email), but first contact Mary Clare Durel at mdurel@gmu.edu for a code to override the registration fee. While registering, you will be asked to acknowledge an agreement regarding your participation in filmed session, being added to C-IP2’s mailing list, etc. Please read this over. Please also use your “@gmu.edu” email address when registering.

Only U.S. law students who are formally admitted to Scalia Law are eligible to receive the credit. If you are currently enrolled at a different U.S. law school, you will first need to be accepted as a visiting student at Scalia Law. For information about enrolling at Scalia Law as a visiting student, please click here. (Please note: Although May 10, 2024, is listed as the final day to apply to Mason as a transfer student for the Summer term, because this Summer School starts a bit later than other Summer courses, there is some room to apply after the May 10 deadline. However, we encourage application to Mason as soon as possible, and if you have any questions, please email C-IP2 at cip2@gmu.edu.)

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Regarding Financial Assistance

We regret to advise that neither WIPO nor C-IP2 is able to offer formal financial assistance to those seeking to participate in the program. Similarly, we are unable to identify any third parties that may be able to offer such assistance.


WIPO-U.S. Summer School participants on the Antonin Scalia Law School plaza
The Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School partners with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to host the WIPO-U.S. Summer School on Intellectual Property. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Clare Durel at mdurel@gmu.edu.