International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Intellectual Property Education Combined With Invention, Law, and Ethics
Educations
Mamoru Matsuoka a *
ª Mie University, Tsu, Mie 514-8507 JAPAN
Abstract
Many countries proceed creativity education to enhance artistic ability and invention education to result in
future industrial development. As a complete intellectual property (IP) education, education on relating laws
with ethical point of view is also required, and those educations should be systematically given from childhood.
The author made a research group to promote such an IP education. The group has made IP education
curriculum from elementary school to high school and accumulated various examples of lesson practice at
school with the cooperation of school teachers. To understand the policy of the laws on IP, it is efficient for
children to create or invent something and to consider how their own ideas should be respected and protected to
each other. We can learn IP laws after growing up, but had better learn IP from childhood to understand the
importance of IP and to have the mind to respect creation or invention, and those who create or invent
something new.
Keywords.
INTRODUCTION
There are various levels on intellectual property (IP) education concerning with copyrights, patents and so on;
1) training to become patent attorneys or experts working in IP section in companies as the top level education,
2) basic education for artists or inventors to treat their created things appropriately as the second level, and 3)
education for general public and students appropriately to use things created by somebody else as the basic level.
Original purpose of the law on copyrights and patents is not to simply protect their rights but to encourage
further creations by giving profit to creators in a certain amount and to realize more cultural and more
convenient society. So far in Japan, IP professional human resource development (1 and 2 mentioned above) has
been done in companies in the style of on-job-training (OJT). IP education was provided also in higher education
such as faculty of engineering but was limited. IP basic education (3) was quite limited; copyright was briefly
treated in primary and secondary education.
The authors’ group consider that IP education should be done as early as from primary education in a
systematic way. The reasons are a) the fundamental idea of IP can be understood better through the systematic
education from childhood, b) organic and effective education can be realized by cooperative education among
creativity education, IP education, and entrepreneur education, c) IP education from childhood has a meaning
not only for general public but can be an opportunity for a part of them to become professional IP experts,
artists, or inventors.
This report describes the status of IP education in primary and secondary education and research and practice
lessons in schools in Japan, mainly involved by the author. It is shown historical review and present status of IP
education in Japan, the status of research and lesson practice, cooperative activity with neighboring countries,
and future outlook in turn.
Historical Review and Present Status of IP Education in Japan
Until quite recently, it was considered that in schools only basics and principles should be taught. This was
also true in universities; higher but general education was given in universities and practical knowledge is given
as OJT. IP education is one of the typical examples. Companies have led IP education in Japan. In 1938 ten
Email address: matsuoka@edu.mie-u.ac.jp
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