Omar Serrano graduated from the Intellectual Property LLM in 2017 and is currently an IP Counsel at Diageo’s Global IP Team. Read about his time at CCLS:
I always wanted to experience living and studying abroad. London was always on the top of my list. After almost 6 years working at one of the best IP law firms in Mexico, I felt that 2016 was the year to fulfill that dream, so I began the search for LLM programmes. I knew that I wanted to study an LLM in Intellectual Property Law, and I considered several programs in the UK, US, Spain, Germany and France. A lot of those programmes were interesting and had good prestige, and I got accepted on a couple of them; however, once I made a deeper research, I found CCLS to be the best alternative for me. The IP LLM is one of the best in Europe. The list of modules was extensive, up to date and covered all areas of interest for me. The teaching staff are highly and internationally recognised, and the international student profile offered the chance to exchange views with people from different backgrounds and ways of thinking. Additionally, the University is in one of the most exciting cities in the world, so once I had to make a decision it was quite easy.
I have a lot of great memories living in London, and the year I spent studying at CCLS has been one of the best so far. Perhaps the coolest memory I have from CCLS is the first day in my Patents Module with Professor Duncan Mathews - one of the best lecturers I had by the way. He began the lecture by opening a can of Guinness and taking a small sip. It turns out that the can had been patented, so this was an amazing and fun way of catching everyone’s attention and he used a perfect example of what we were going to study in the year. However, my favourite memories would be those I lived with, the friends I met that year and all the talented and wonderful people I met.
It is great to be a CCLS alumnus. As a member of this community you are part of a group of highly trained and talented people. The opportunities to network are amazing. I am always proud to say that I graduated from CCLS at Queen Mary University of London, not only for the quality of the program, but also for the prestige and recognition it has around the world.
My experience at CCLS had a positive impact on my career. It provided me with tools that have helped me find solutions in my day to day work and contributed in my personal and professional development. The value of studying in a University with such an international profile is great as it creates a network in which you can continue to exchange points of views to different problems across jurisdictions. The programme has a good mix of academia and practice, so it gives students the tools to face different types of problems and find creative solutions based on comparative law.
If you are looking for a place where you have a highly capable and experienced teaching and administrative staff, with amazing facilities and location in London, with programmes of worldwide recognition, where you will be able to meet really talented people from every corner in the world, then CCLS should be your choice.
Would you like your story featured? Contact ccls-alumni@qmul.ac.uk.