The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Worldwide Academy is giving a distance learning advanced course on biotechnology and intellectual property (IP) from 26 March to 4 June 2009. The course covers topics such as the nature of plant breeder's rights systems and IP as a factor in research in development. A student should have a general background in IP law or in biotechnology. It involves about 100 hours of study time over a period of 10 weeks and is offered in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Registration is open until 18 February 2009. See http://www.wipo.int/academy/en/courses/distance_learning/catalog/dl204bio.htm l or contact DL204e.academy@wipo.int for more information. Other biotech events are available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/..