On-demand IP courses for the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) is a professional membership organisation that represents the interests of over 1,600 trade mark and design professionals.
Background
CITMA's Events Manager, Sarah Vaughan, first approached White Bicycle in 2021, when they were considering making their first foray into online learning. Their objective was to gauge the appetite for bite-sized on-demand online learning, to inform their future plans for the delivery of professional development opportunities, and we were able to offer a more cost-effective solution than other providers that Sarah had spoken to.
Project details
Ann Trepreneur has developed a new range of soft drinks. But how can she protect against imitations? What advantages are there to trade-marking her logo or brand name? And what if she decides to sell her products outside of the UK…?
CITMA’s first online course, Introduction to Trade Mark Administration and Formalities (ITMAF), explores the answers to all these questions and more, as it takes learners on a journey through the lifecycle of a trade mark. We created a fictional case study featuring Ann Trepreneur and returned to it throughout the course, to bring the topic to life and giving learners a clear insight into the practical application of what they’re learning.
The ITMAF course was produced in a highly collaborative and iterative way, with CITMA Paralegal committee members authoring and reviewing the content at different stages.
Impact
Launched in November 2021, by mid-December there were 111 students enrolled, of which 75 had completed the course, meaning CITMA recovered the development cost of the ITMAF course within 3 weeks! This success spurred them on to collaborate with us on two follow-up courses on Trade Mark Renewals and Recordals and Registered Designs, in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
ITMAF was shortlisted for an Association Excellence Award (Best Learning / Professional Development Programme) in 2022 and a MemCom Excellence Award (Best e-learning / online education initiative) in 2023.
Sarah said: “Since launching our course we have had excellent feedback on the high quality of activities, ease of navigation, course structure and content from students. Thanks to Leah and Finn at White Bicycle Ltd for effectively translating our course content into our first ever interactive online course through ongoing collaboration with our SMEs and expert guidance across the build process. We look forward to working with them again in the near future!”