Abstract:

The modern information space imposes new requirements on the competencies and knowledge of the modern young professionals in a university environment. Information literacy, media and intellectual property literacy are becoming mandatory components of the knowledge of experts in the information, public and social environment.

Rapidly evolving information technologies and the Internet are seriously challenging intellectual property (IP) rights. As a set of legal norms for regulating public relations in connection with the creation, recognition, legal protection and use of intellectual results and other intangible goods, IP has an increasingly key place in public relations. The importance of IP in the modern world goes far beyond the protection of the creations of the mind, as it affects all aspects of the economic and cultural life of modern society. Today, the one who creates, stores, uses information has an advantage, and this advantage is much more decisive than that of the holder of property rights.

The main goal of the research presented in this paper is to realize a bibliographical overview of information sources in the field of intellectual property literacy, to study and systematize all discovered documents and as a result to develop a bibliographic database providing access to a large volume of bibliographic data or full text of resources related to the subject.

The methodology applied for the realisation of the study includes instruments for observation, search, systematisation, summary and analysis of traditional as well as electronic information sources –bibliographic and full-text databases, publishing and library catalogues.

The research presented in the paper is part of the implementation of a research project entitled “A Conceptual Educational Model for Enhancing Information Literacy in an University Information Environment”. The main goal of the project is to systematically and purposefully study issues related to increasing information literacy in the university information environment in the humanities and social sciences, both among students and among tutors in Bulgaria, by creating and testing an educational model for increasing information literacy, in particular of the intellectual property competence, through which the identified gaps during the research will be resolved. The project was won in the Competition for financial support of basic research projects – 2019, organized by the National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria, with Contract № KP–06–Н35/10 from 18.12.2019, led by Prof. DSc. Stoyan Denchev.

In summary, this paper, as well as the presented research project, aim to emphasize the key importance of information literacy, media and intellectual literacy today, to contribute to the accumulation of research materials that find application in updating existing curricula related to studying intellectual property and their direct involvement in the educational process in the university environment. As a result, university education will adequately meet the current requirements of participants in the modern information environment.

Keywords:

Intellectual property literacy, intellectual property, information literacy, university environment, research project.