The Global Intellectual Property Academy

The Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) provides intellectual property training on a variety of topics that focus primarily on enforcement, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. GIPA programs are run on a fiscal year calendar from October to September and are conducted around the world, both in-person and through virtual modes. Many of our classes are conducted at USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

Participants in GIPA classes must be officials of intellectual property offices of their respective governments, or of the agencies of their governments that are responsible for enforcement, patent, trademark, or copyright policies.

• The Enforcement Programs are designed to focus on topics of criminal, civil, customs and border enforcement. These programs are technical and include a comprehensive course agenda.
• The Patent Programs are designed to focus on topics that include administration, budgeting, examination procedures and industrial procedures. The patent program goals are to share best practices and therefore improve patent quality around the world.
• The Trademark Programs are designed to focus on administration, budgeting, recruitment, training, and treaty protocol. These programs provide discussions and case studies on examination procedures.
• The Copyright Programs include challenging issues that are discussed with leading professionals in their field. The program includes topics such as exclusive rights, liability and piracy.

GIPA statistics

For detailed information about the IP training programs conducted by the USPTO’s Global Intellectual Property Academy during the current fiscal year—including the number of domestic and international training programs, the number of people who received training, and the number of countries and regions trained—see the Office of Policy and International Affairs’ dashboard.

GIPA Alumni Survey Highlights

• Satisfied with their experience: 
  ► 95.6% of respondents rated their likeliness of recommending a GIPA training to a colleague a seven, eight, or nine (using a scale of 1-9, nine being the highest ranking), with a majority (62.9%) saying a nine.
• Value their experience with GIPA: 
  ► 97% of respondents think that meeting people from all over the world was either generally valuable or very valuable.
• Increased their learning and appreciation of Intellectual Property:
  ► 93.1% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they have a better appreciation for international intellectual property rights and enforcement policy strategies.
  ► 92.6% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they are better able to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate intellectual property rights and enforcement issues.
• Participants have begun to influence their organization and countries:
  ► 81.2% of respondents report that they introduced new ideas and knowledge at their work to colleagues, and or/others in their country.

History of the Global Intellectual Property Academy

In 1985, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began a Visiting Scholars Program through which foreign government officials dedicated to the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) could attend lectures related to the intellectual property disciplines: patents, trademarks, copyrights and IPR enforcement. The program was created to help countries around the world improve their IP programs and services by training with experts in the United States.

The American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA) created the foundation for USPTO to become a guiding force in both national and international IP policy issues. The AIPA enables the USPTO to advise the president, through the Secretary of Commerce and all Federal agencies on policy matters, including IP protection in other countries. This act also authorizes the USPTO to offer guidance, conduct programs and studies, and to coordinate with foreign IP offices and international organizations on issues concerning IP protection. The Office of the Administrator of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA) fulfills the various responsibilities created by the AIPA including training foreign officials on IP administration and enforcement.

On September 21, 2005, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched new initiatives to fight IP theft. Key components of the plan included appointment of IPR experts in countries abroad, a new small business outreach program to educate small business owners in the United States about protecting their IP rights, and the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA). GIPA is managed by OPIA and is located at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

In FY 2021, GIPA conducted a total of 250 training activities, serving well over 17,500 individuals. Approximately 43% of all individuals served were domestic IP rights owners and users, and approximately 57% were patent, trademark, and copyright officials; prosecutors; police; customs officials; and IP policymakers from 132 countries and intergovernmental organizations. For additional information on Global Intellectual Property Academy training program statistics, please visit the Office of Policy and International Affairs Dashboard.