Lebanon Innovate advanced capacity building on legal requirements in IPR: registrations are open!

Our project Lebanon Innovate announces the advanced capacity building on legal requirements in IPR for Lebanese lawyers, an opportunity to deep dive into the legal requirements in IPR in Lebanon and acquire knowledge about international best practices, to accompany IP based innovators into protecting their IP, filing international patents, and develop legal agreements for commercialization. Through this programme, up to 20 participants will have access to 40-hour online training, 1:1 online mentoring support, online group coaching sessions and access to training resources and relevant case studies. Two in person networking and coaching sessions are also foreseen for the group during the programme lifetime.

Upon completing this programme, participants will have gained practical knowledge on how to protect, commercialize, and enforce innovation through IP, with particular attention to the support services they can provide to researchers, startups, and SMEs.

Moreover, the programme aims at establishing a network of Lebanese IP lawyers that can be activated by the wider Lebanese RDI ecosystem involved in Lebanon Innovate programme through the thematic Knowledge & Innovation Communities, the LIRA programme, and the online Innovation Resource Portal.

Training costs are fully covered by the EU-funded programme Lebanon Innovate.

The programme will run between March and May 2024 and will include:

• 40-hour training with Lebanese and European IPR experts
• Online 1:1 coaching and mentoring sessions.
• Online group coaching and training sessions (representing 5 days throughout the programme)
• Access to online training materials and toolkits.
• Participation in networking activities (2 in person sessions in Beirut, Lebanon)

The programme will address the following key learning topics through a mix of theoretical sessions and practical workshops:

IP policies and protection; patents and competition law; code of ethics; patent licensing; technology transfer; IP evaluation; trademarks, industrial design, copyright, and related rights law; business law; tax/accounting and administrative support; contractual practices ⎯ these topics will be adapted to the participants’ profiles and former experiences and knowledge on the subjects.

The programme will also address the importance of IP for startups and SMEs and the role IP lawyers can play in supporting startups and SMEs in integrating IP in their business strategy. Particular attention will be dedicated to the three priority sectors Lebanon Innovate is working on: Agrofood, ICT & Creative Industries, Health.

We expect the programme to cover both the Lebanese IPR system and the European one, as we expect the lawyers to support both Lebanese innovators and entrepreneurs protecting their innovations in Lebanon and in Europe (if they are considering internationalising), and on the other side to support European innovators and entrepreneurs protecting their innovations in Lebanon.

Capacity building timeframe

Lebanon Innovate Advanced Capacity Building Programme for IP Lawyers will take place between March and May 2024.

Attendance to the two in-person sessions is mandatory and we expect the equivalent of 15 days of commitment between March and May 2024 to attend group and individual online sessions and undertake some individual practical exercise.

Who is this course for?

Lebanon Innovate with the financial support of the EU, offers this capacity building programme free of charge to up to 20 Lebanese Lawyers willing to contribute to the further development of the Lebanese innovation ecosystem. Lebanon Innovate is looking for mid-experienced Lawyers willing to offer their services to start-ups and SMEs, and whether relevant to researchers willing to exploit their research results through technology transfer and IP commercialization.

Participants will be selected based on the following selection criteria:

• Possess a law degree from a recognized university.
• 5 to 10 Years of professional experience as
  • Independent lawyer
  • Affiliated lawyer to a law firm
  • Lawyer in a business support organisation (incubator/accelerator)
  • Lawyer in an academic/research institution
• Former professional experience with startups and SMEs (participants could include any voluntary work performed to support startups and SMEs)
• Proficiency in oral and written English
• Demonstrate interest in pursuing a career or developing expertise in Intellectual Property Law.
• Motivation to enhance understanding and expertise in IP law (including the plan to capitalise on the capacity building programme)
• Commitment to the full duration of the programme, including the 40-hour training, online mentoring, group coaching sessions, and participation in networking activities.
• Interest in supporting the Lebanese Research, Development, and Innovation ecosystem through assisting researchers, startups, and SMEs and joining a community of IP lawyers supporting the Lebanese ecosystem.

*As the programme is fully funded and capacities are limited (up to 20 participants), it is expected that only serious and committed participants apply.

How to register

The course is brought to you by the Lebanon Innovate programme, funded by the European Union.

To apply to the training free of cost, please fill in the application form here and send your CV to Joanna.Abiabdallah@ebn.eu by March 11, 2024.

For further information please email Joanna.Abiabdallah@ebn.eu and Chiara.Davalli@ebn.eu

Check more details about the programme and the selection process in the following document