Trade Mark Practice, Professional Certificate

This Certificate, designed by Nottingham Law School in conjunction with ITMA, is focused on the development of the knowledge base and professional skills required of the trade mark attorney.

The Professional Certificate in Trade Mark Practice for the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys was launched in September 2011. The Certificate, designed by Nottingham Law School in conjunction with ITMA, is focused on the development of the knowledge base and professional skills required of the trade mark attorney in what is now a fragmented and volatile legal services market. Built upon teaching and assessment methods used to train solicitors and barristers, the new course will focus on the outcomes required of the practitioner in a post Legal Services Act world.

The new course:

• has been designed specifically for ITMA trainees and has been approved by ITMA/IPREG
• is skills-based and built upon the same course delivery techniques as the Legal Practice Course for solicitors and the Bar Professional Training Course for barristers
• is designed to use a variety of teaching techniques such as interactive lectures, role play and case study exercises and facilitated discussion groups
• is essentially practical, based on an experiential or learning by doing method of delivery
• uses an eLearning platform called NOW, to enable you to stay in touch with the Law School throughout the course
• utilises the skills of practicing trade mark attorneys addition to members of Nottingham Law School faculty (a number of practicing trade mark attorneys have undertaken a course called Train the Trainers to enable them to develop their skills as tutors in readiness for the course)
• uses a method of rotating assessments meaning that some assessments are taken and then banked by the student during the course
• carries university credits and is also graded, like the Nottingham Law School LPC, into Distinction, Commendation and Pass
• is delivered in a way that suits busy schedules and minimises the time spent away from the office
• recognises that you will be in private practice or working in-house during the course and seeks to enable you to apply your knowledge and skills to your own practice as soon as possible.

The course is structured to minimise the time spent away from the office and is taught by a mix of assignments and attendance.

Timetable

Module 1 unit 1: 23 – 26 October

Module 1 unit 2: 4 – 7 December

Interviewing assessment: 28 January 2014

Module 2 Unit 1: 29 January – 1 February 2014

Assessment: Searching Paper: 18 March 2014

Module 2 Unit 2: 19 – 22 March 2014

Assessment block: Papers 1 and 2: 24 – 25 April 2014

Module 3: IP Litigation Certificate: 4 – 7 June 2014

Assessment block IP Litigation and advocacy: 10 – 11 July 2014

Study routes

You will study part-time over one year usually beginning in October and ending in May the following year on submission of the reflective report. The course is built around intensive study units, usually running from Wednesday to Saturday, allowing work to be completed at a time that is convenient to you.

eLearning

The course does not consist solely of a limited number of study units in Nottingham. You will also make use of our eLearning facilities. NOW (NTU Online Work space) is a virtual learning portal and a resource which can be accessed from your computer at home or in the office. Course materials, recordings of lectures and assessments can be downloaded and viewed from your computer. In addition, you will be able to access library resources such as Westlaw and Kerly's. NOW can also be used to form online discussion groups. It will be possible for you to contact your personal tutor and group tutors via NOW, to obtain feedback or to ask questions.

It is hoped that NOW will enable a collegiate feeling to develop between faculty and students. You remain a student of the Law School, no matter where you are geographically. NOW provides a mechanism for you to stay in touch, both with your tutors and each other. Find out more about the NOW system on our website