What is EiPiC™?
Developed by Dr. Frederic Bertley, President and CEO of COSI, EiPiC provides an engaging and hands-on operational framework for students to learn about the field of intellectual property and entrepreneurship.

Why EiPiC™
The security of intellectual property (IP) underpins much of the economic activity that drives growth and progress. Without adequate enforcement of patents, trademarks, and copyrighting, societies face diminished consumer confidence, economic vitality, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship. At the global level, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency dedicated to the use of intellectual property as a means of stimulating innovation and creativity.

Why is it important to strengthen IP knowledge among grade schools and secondary students?
So often, elementary and secondary curricula include lessons on intellectual property, but these lessons focus on the importance of respecting IP law and how to avoid violating it; the lessons fall short of empowering the students to protect their own IP with the mechanisms that are in place and enforced nationally and internationally.

While these students are “only” in school, the precedent for youth-empowered transformational innovation and discovery supports the case that this is not only “a good time” but perhaps “the best time” to challenge, develop, and harness the next generation of world changers and problem solvers. The precedent is replete with the power of 17 to 27 year-old innovators, and psychology and physiology support the observed trend.

An astounding portion of the world’s most innovative ideas were developed by people between the ages of 17 and 27 (Einstein, Chad Jenkins, Marc Zuckerberg, Serge Brin and Larry Page, Bill Gates, Jeff Han, Madame Curie, etc.) But young people need a framework to foster their abilities and support their development to logical fruition.

An Innovation Catalyst
By developing a youth engagement program founded in intellectual property education, COSI will help students learn about owning their ideas. The purpose of the EiPIC initiative is to engage students to work towards developing and implementing innovative solutions to complex challenges. Empowering students to learn how to pursue legal protection for their ideas at a young age is just one way to foster innovative thinking and support the next generation of entrepreneurs and inventors.

This training and awareness is sorely lacking in undergraduate institutions around the world and yet this is precisely the time to engage students in thoughtful reflection around and pursuit of innovation and IP protection.