IP Views

A View from Munich
September 20, 2007
by: Ferdinand Negre

As I write this article, I can see from my huge office window snow falling in big flakes of about 1-2 square centimeters! It is a bit windy and the snow flakes are dancing in the air. What a beautiful sight! This is Munich, 22 January 2005. I am here since October 2004 as part of a 7-person delegate from the ASEAN region to participate in the ECAP II Post-Graduate IP Scholarship in Europe. All seven of us teach in universities in our respective countries.

We are attending the winter semester of the LLM program at Munich Intellectual Property Center (MIPLC) based in Max Planck Institute (MPI). People from the intellectual property field know that Max Planck Institute is one of the most respected institutions in the field of intellectual property research. MIPLC is starting to gain its reputation as well. For one, MIPLC has the most reputable professors in its roster. All of them are experts in their own fields. A good number of them come all the way from institutions in the United States and others from the United Kingdom. This gives education at MIPLC a good balance among the different approaches, theories and perspectives in the field of intellectual property.

The LLM Program at MIPLC is very tough and competitive. Some call it ambitious. Why, because of the voluminous reading assignments everyday. The major IP courses are scheduled in straight days in a week or two. The other very specialized courses are spread over a period of two weeks or three. Students are required and expected to participate in class discussions. So, we have to prepare hard for each day to be able to participate in class discussions. I can say that our group is doing its fair share in the lively class discussions.

This is not to say that our stay here in Munich is all serious studies. In a cold country away from our loved ones, we would find time to see sights of Munich and its neighbors. Some of us manage to go on weekend trips to the beautiful places within and around the Bavaria region. We went to see Neuschwanstein Castle [where the Holy Grail is believed to be hidden!], a grand castle that existed only in my dreams before I saw it; we went up to Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany with a breathtaking 360° view of the Alps; and Lindau, where one can see the beautiful lake with the majestic mountain background. Of course, the outstanding collections at the Munich museums are not to be missed!
 

Indeed, we are a bunch of nice happy people. Tran Le Hong from Vietnam is the go-to guy in terms of IT. We will hound him whenever we have problems with our computers. Anil Samtami from Singapore is the wise guy, for he would gladly lead us to good but cheap places for food, e.g. Subway Sandwiches! San Sorphorn from Cambodia is our young boy who always needs baby-sitting, but who would love to poke jokes at us. Lukana Pobromyen from Thailand is our source of energy. Why, we would devour Thai foods that she cooks so well. Juria Abdul Jalil from Malaysia is the singer in the group. She has an endearing voice that can make someone in us cry. Rahmi Jened from Indonesia is the melodramatic member who would digest every word in the songs we sing during our videoke nights!

Me? I am the matador in the group… and sometimes the bull wins! But that's another story. Ein Weizenbier please!
 

Ferdinand Negre

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