Intellectual Property and Business Strategy

Managing intellectual property (IP) rights is of first-order importance in many organizations. To set the right strategic direction, senior executives must have an in-depth understanding of the tools and techniques that enable companies to protect their innovative products, creative works, designs, and brands. This unique program brings together leading faculty from Harvard Business School (HBS) and Harvard Law School (HLS) to discuss how IP law has evolved in recent years, where critical international differences persist, and how managers and legal counsel can exploit evolving IP regimes to better protect company assets. The program will emphasize the benefits of tightly integrating your company's approach to IP with broader strategic considerations. In many companies, managing IP rights is seen as a complex technical task that is best left to legal experts. By contrast, this program provides an approach to systematically integrating legal and strategic considerations, showing how a combination of the two perspectives can unlock additional value. In collaboration with the Program on Negotiation at HLS, participants will have an opportunity to participate in a complex IP negotiation exercise. Participating in a multi-faceted curriculum you will learn to sharpen your negotiating skills and explore ways to capture the extra value that a tighter integration of IP management and strategy promises to deliver.

What You Can Expect

In a group of experienced executives from a diverse set of industries and geographies, you will examine U.S. and international patent, copyright, and trademark laws, emphasizing how fundamental ideas have evolved in recent years. Equipped with a firm grasp of the legal landscape, you will then explore ways to integrate your company's IP management with broader strategic goals.

Your Course of Study

You will rely on case studies, interactive lectures, and a hands-on negotiation exercise to discuss effective ways to manage IP and support your company's strategic goals.

Who Is Right for the Program

This program is designed for senior executives with a management or legal background. The program topics are particularly relevant for legal counsel responsible for IP management and executives who set strategic direction for their companies. To encourage organization-wide impact, admission preference is given to executive teams composed of four to eight individuals.

What You Can Expect

Intellectual Property and Business Strategy has two broad goals. The first is to provide a broad overview of the tools and techniques that companies can use to protect their IP. You will discuss the premises of patent, copyright, and trademark laws, emphasizing recent developments that influence how companies can best protect their assets. The second goal is to encourage the integration of IP management with the company's broader strategy. How your firm's IP is protected has far-reaching strategic consequences, influencing competition in the industry, the return on investments in R&D, and, ultimately, the financial performance of your company. This program provides a systematic approach to integrating strategic decision making and IP management. Using a framework developed at Harvard University, the program is designed to show how a combination of legal and strategic thinking can help maximize the value of IP. An important goal of the program is to foster a dialog among executives with backgrounds in management and law.

In conversations with your peers, faculty from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, and through relevant lessons in the classroom, you will improve your ability to:

Negotiations Exercise

The course includes an intense negotiation exercise where you will explore a set of breakthrough strategies for moving from face-to-face confrontation to achieve more productive results. You will learn how to recognize and defuse "hard tactics," wield your power without provoking, and exercise your greatest asset as a negotiator—the power to change the game.

Your Course of Study

HBS and HLS faculty carefully structured the curriculum to focus on the knowledge and techniques required to develop and implement an IP strategy. A key component of the program will be the negotiation training exercise supervised by Professor Robert Mnookin, director of the Program on Negotiation at HLS. In two-person teams, program participants will engage in a mock negotiation of a complex trademark license. Before the exercise, Professor Mnookin will examine the latest negotiation techniques as well as the challenges of licensing intellectual property rights. Following the exercise, he will offer feedback on the quality of licenses negotiated by the participants. Through case studies, interactive lectures, and panel discussions, you will gain critical insights into improving intellectual property value. You will:

"All the invaluable experience provided by the case method in Intellectual Property and Business Strategy will help me not only in complex business issues, but also in my day-to-day work. By analyzing real-life industry scenarios, the program examined how IP strategy plays a key role in the success—or failure—of the overall corporate strategy."
Marcio Merkl [Attorney], Abreu, Merkl e Advogados Associados, Brazil

Who Is Right for the Program

This program is designed for senior executives with responsibility for strategic decision making or IP management in their organizations. Past participants include individuals who manage the development, licensing, and marketing of intellectual property for their organizations and executives who oversee research and development, business development, corporate strategy, and product development. The program is appropriate for participants with a background in general management or in law—including general counsels or individuals in private practice. Entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who provide services to or invest in intellectual property are also welcome. To encourage organization-wide impact, admission preference is given to teams of four to eight senior executives.

"My firm invests in energy-related technologies, so IP is important to every one of our investments. This program’s strategy-focused case studies put the learning into perspective, demonstrating that sometimes the most obvious approach is not the best one. You have to think through the problem from many angles to come up with a good strategy. Where is the profit going to be made? Where might margins deteriorate? Cases from other industries exposed me to new issues and approaches I would not naturally have thought of."
Bert Dequae [General Counsel], Kenda Capital B.V., The Netherlands

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Executive Education programs at Harvard University, Intellectual Property and Business Strategy is developed and taught by core faculty from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School—not adjunct staff or part-time instructors. These faculty members are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.

Through publishing, consulting, and—most important—teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

Stuart N. Brotman, Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School.

William W. Fisher, WilmerHale Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Harvard Law School. Faculty director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School; and faculty cochair of "Intellectual Property and Business Strategy."

Andrei Hagiu, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit.

Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit; faculty chair of "Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage" and faculty cochair of "Intellectual Property and Business Strategy," "Senior Executive Program for China," and "Effective Strategies for Media Companies."

John G. Palfrey, Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law. Vice Dean, Library and Information Resources; and faculty codirector, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School.

Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Cofounder and faculty codirector, Berkman Center for Internet and Society; and Professor of Computer Science, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Admissions

Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.

No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.

If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.

HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.

Language Proficiency

We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.

Application Process

Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.

If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.

If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.

Complete Your Application

Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.

Meet the Deadlines

We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.

Notification of Acceptance

We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.

The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.

Need help?

For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).