Testimonials

Sarah Kardesler, Germany, class 2022/2023 - Semester Abroad Seattle

For the past six months, I've been living the American college dream. I have had the privilege of studying Intellectual Property law at the University of Washington, and it was an incredible experience. The professors were not only experts in their field, but many of them had previously worked as lawyers, which made the classes practical and insightful. One of my favorite classes was music law, which was open to both law students and music students. It was fascinating to learn about the legal issues surrounding the music industry and to hear from music professionals about their experiences. Besides from my class experiences I dined with a professor at her home (I still can't believe she invited students to her house), gobbled up Thanksgiving dinner with 20 roommates in a shared house, and attended weekly cookouts with other international students who introduced me to their home country's cuisine (I'm now an expert in all things delicious). I tried to wrap my head around American football but quickly realized it was like trying to learn an alien language. I got stranded in Las Vegas during Christmas because I didn't know better than to book a flight on December 23rd (rookie mistake, am I right?). I got lost in massive American supermarkets and in translation. I made a ton of new friends and built a home far away from home. (I learned that home is where the Starbucks is, and my wallet can attest to that.) These past few months have been the best of my life, and I'm grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can't wait to see what Dresden and my time at TU hold.

Yamini Chandar Sha, India, Class 2021

The Masters program offered by TU Dresden is truly informative and enlightening. The summer program at Dresden is well designed to cover various subjects of IP law. The lectures offered by scholars from across the world and workshops on data protection laws have helped me to cultivate a deeper understanding of different subjects of law. Despite this year's programme was virtual, which was challenging at times, I was impressed by the commitment and support from the faculty. Their expertise and guidance has been thoroughly helpful in terms of acquiring extensive knowledge and invaluable insights into different ways of thinking. The program's emphasis on compulsory internship also allowed me to explore different opportunities in the real world and build a successful career.

The winter semester at Charles University, Prague focussed more on copyright laws. It focussed on team-work which allowed me to connect and engage with a diverse group of students from different cultures. Moreover, the University offered students courses on other subjects of law like corporate laws, sports law and many others which helped me broaden my knowledge. Overall, the experience gained through this semester has been truly enriching and worthwhile.

In essence, the program offered by TU Dresden is an all in one knowledge package and certainly rewarding. I have been able to apply the knowledge I acquired from the program during my work and advance through my career. In all, pursuing this degree has been one of the most transformative experiences of my professional career.

Pierre Gerber, France, Class of 2021

The International Studies in Intellectual Property Law program of the TU Dresden offers solid, comprehensive technical knowledge as well as valuable practical insights from legal professionals. As a whole, the training received both in Dresden and in the partner universities makes for an excellent background to start a career in the highly specialised field of IP law. Students are carefully supervised by a helpful and supportive team, even in the difficult context of the Covid pandemic, allowing for a pleasant learning experience.

The semester at Queen Mary University of London focuses on more specific areas such as the licensing of IP rights as well as more peripheral topics such as trade secrets. It is a challenging course of study that complements the IP-rights oriented lectures at TU Dresden nicely. All in all, one can only recommend this LL.M to lawyers or students planning their future career in IP law.

Alexander Fischer, Germany, Class of 2021:

The special advantage of the Dresden program is that you don't have to choose - as in most other Master's programs - whether you want to gain in-depth knowledge of German law or look beyond your own nose to gain insight into the mechanics of foreign law in another jurisdiction.  The fact that you get the best of both worlds at the TU Dresden and its various partner universities means, that the master's program enjoys an excellent reputation and, in my opinion, is also highly valued by employers.

In addition, as a lawyer, you are presented with professional and personal challenges that allow you to grow noticeably, and yet you are always well looked after by a friendly and caring team at the institute - whether in Dresden, in online teaching, or abroad.
Prof. Lauber-Rönsberg and her team naturally transfer their tangible enthusiasm for the practice of IP law to the students, which is by no means a matter of course, even in a Master's program.

Many contacts to law firms and companies through interesting practical lectures round off the studies and help the students to concretely plan their career in IP law after graduation.

Felix Oludare Omosele, Nigera, 2020:

I was at the University of Szeged, Hungary for the winter semester of the LL.M. program. Fortunately, this period was before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, and I was, therefore, able to attend in-person classes. One of the commendable features of the study program at Szeged was its use of practicing professionals as lecturers. For example, a patent attorney was responsible for one of the modules that I took. Furthermore, the supportive role of the program coordinator easily offset the integration challenges that I faced off-studies while in the city.

The summer semester at TU Dresden was entirely virtual and challenging – of course for obvious reasons. However, despite this forced constraint, I still found several aspects of the program admirable. In particular, the highlighting by students of country-by-country differences in IP legislation in an online table provides a comparative depth. Also, the perspectives gained from experts during the programs’ virtual “Practitioners Panel sessions” were quite impressive, and I believe all this would help me in my future professional career.

Marek Nowicki, Poland, Class of 2020:

"Despite the numerous challenges related to the corona pandemic, the IP-LL.M. program has been successfully converted to online teaching and was able to deliver an excellent academic experience. Students have been provided with a number of easy-to-use online tools designed to enable distance-based learning, including an all-in-one user-friendly platform, recorded lectures, live classes, e-textbook, and full access to the online library via VPN along with proper instructions on how to access and use all of these resources. Additionally, the weekly consultation hour meetings have allowed students to ask questions regarding organizational, technical, residence, and other issues. The IP-LL.M. team was always friendly, supportive, and ready to find individual solutions. Overall, I learned a lot and it has been a very positive experience for me.

Eirini Despotaki, Greece, Class of 2020:

Our students have the opportunity to participate in the Pan-European Seal Program of the EUIPO after graduation. This year three of our students are participating in the program, one of them is Eirini Despotaki from Greece, despite the circumstances, she has the opportunity to be on-site in Alicante.

The study program lived up to my expectations despite the objective difficulties set to the coordinators as well as to us - students - by the global pandemic. My semester abroad in Strasbourg was a very enriching experience both on an academic and a personal level as it provided me numerous chances to expand my legal knowledge. Namely, I had the chance to write a mid-term essay on Patent Law and to participate in a Moot Court on Wine Law held in Reims, France. The modules of the summer semester in Dresden were held entirely online, keeping, however, their high academic quality. The availability and excellent assistance of the professors at all times is one of the things I appreciated the most as it compensated for the absence of physical interaction between students and teachers. During my studies, I decided to apply for a one-year-traineeship at the EUIPO, where I was eventually accepted. I am currently working at the Operations Department of the Office, and more precisely, in Oppositions Decisions. The Trademark Law knowledge I gained through my LLM has been proven more than handy in my daily tasks, which consist of drafting decisions on oppositions against European Union trademark applications. In the scenario where I wouldn't be working at the EUIPO, I would have probably looked for an internship at an international law firm that specializes in IP law, either in my home country or abroad. Overall, I feel like this LLM has been a valuable asset for my future career.

Katrin Eßer, Germany, class of 2020:

Our LL.M. students spend the winter semester at one of our partner universities. Despite the unusual circumstances that accompany us this year, Ms. Katrin Eßer is studying on-site at the University of Exeter. She gives us a little insight into what it's like to study:

"Despite the challenging overall circumstances, the lecturers here at Exeter place a lot of emphasis on us getting to know each other. One lecturer always "throws" us into "breakout rooms" via Zoom in pairs or threes at the beginning of the "online-live" VL. This is really quite nice when you can just chat a bit with other students and get to know each other. It feels like most of the students are in Exeter, but getting to know each other online is always more difficult than in the university. But through the group work, it works quite well and you get to know one or the other. The exams in Exeter this year will be in the form of essays that we do at home. In the end, the time abroad is very short, but I'm still really happy that the whole thing with Corona worked out at all and in view of these circumstances it's really great and also much better than expected.“

Radek Matusek, Czech Republic, academic year 2018/2019:

"The best part of the study program was that intellectual property law was taught in a more practical way that helps you better understand the law. Furthermore, intellectual property law is taught by professionals from various legal fields. And finally, the possibility to study with people from different countries gave me an opportunity to learn more about different countries and cultures".

Usman Ghaffar, Pakistan, academic year 2018/2019:

"I am proud to say that I was part of the first batch of students who enrolled in this IP LLM course at TU Dresden during the launch of an all-exclusive English Track, during the academic year 2018-2019. It was a delightful, yet academically challenging experience to be a part of. I had the opportunity to obtain theoretical knowledge from highly prestigious and well-versed academics in the field of Intellectual Property Law, while the program also offered plenty of opportunities for networking and gaining practical experience. I strongly recommend this LLM course to anyone looking to expand their legal expertise in the specialized area of IP law, irrespective of which legal jurisdiction you have previously studied in. I also recommend it to people who aspire to practically advance their career in this competitive legal field, aside from seeking a specialized qualification.”