Embedding intellectual property law in Dutch and British universities: inventor Johann Lippershey and his telescope

Whilst the Dutch inventor, Johann Lippershey was ultimately not successful in securing a patent for inventing the telescope in 1608, his failure to do so and specifically the reasons for his failure, should act as a cautionary tale as to why Universities in his country of origin the Netherlands and for the purposes of this paper, in the UK too, should provide their respective students with a comprehensive and coherent knowledge of intellectual property so that they have the greatest chance of protecting and exploiting any intellectual property they do create once graduated. This paper will examine what Dutch and British universities are currently doing to embed intellectual property education in their respective curricula and whether the changing nature of their roles in society, has helped or hindered these universities in their ability to deliver intellectual property education in the form that their student communities desire.