What the WIPO DL-101 and DL-170 Certificates Actually Teach You: An Engineer's Notes on General IP and Patent Essentials

Author: Nguyễn Thành Đức - Founder, Nexus Sentire Technology · Contact: ng*******@gmail.com

Key Takeaways

DL-101 is WIPO Academy's certificate, self-paced General Course on Intellectual Property (Version 2). It is built as a foundation course covering copyright and related rights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, plant variety protection, traditional knowledge, unfair competition, and the international treaty systems that connect them.

DL-170 is the Specialized Course on the Essentials of Patents - a focused, self-paced course that goes deeper into patentability requirements, the patent application lifecycle, patent claims, and the economic role of patents.

Both courses are offered by the WIPO Academy, the training arm of the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. Both are self-paced, free of charge, tutor-supported, and end in a time-bound, multiple-choice online exam; passing awards an official electronic certificate of completion. WIPO recommends completing DL-101 before moving on to patent-specific courses like DL-170, since DL-101 establishes the vocabulary and legal framework that DL-170 builds on.

I completed both courses while actively working as an engineer with pending patent and utility-solution applications at the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office - so this write-up blends what the courses teach with how that knowledge maps onto real filings.

Who Is Writing This

I'm Nguyễn Thành Đức, founder of Nexus Sentire Technology, a software and hardware engineer working mostly in .NET, AI systems, and connected devices. Alongside product work, I've filed three patent and utility-solution applications with the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office (two of which have already passed formal examination), spoken on AI and automation topics at universities including FPT University and VKU, and been recognized by DigitalOcean as a Hacktoberfest Super Contributor for open-source work.

Filing real patent applications is what pushed me toward WIPO's own training material - I wanted the formal, internationally recognized framework behind the process I was already doing by trial and error with local counsel. That's the lens this article is written through.

What Are DL-101 and DL-170, Exactly?

Both courses belong to the WIPO Academy's Distance Learning (DL) Program, which has been running since 1999 and offers online IP training in more than ten languages, ranging from free self-paced primers to tutor-led advanced and specialized courses.

In short: DL-101 answers "what is IP and how does the system fit together," while DL-170 answers "how does a patent specifically get examined, granted, and enforced."

Part 1 - What I Learned From DL-101 (General Course on Intellectual Property, v2)

DL-101 is structured as a sequence of self-contained modules, each followed by a self-assessment quiz, with tutor support available throughout. It has been taken by hundreds of thousands of participants worldwide since 2001 and has been adapted by multiple WIPO member states for local audiences, which says something about how widely it's used as a baseline IP course in universities and IP offices alike.

Part 2 - What I Learned From DL-170 (Specialized Course on the Essentials of Patents)

DL-170 narrows the focus to patents and is positioned within WIPO's patent-track curriculum, alongside courses like the introduction to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (DL-101-PCT) and the e-Tutorial on Using Patent Information (DL-177). Where DL-101 gives one general module on patents, DL-170 expands that into a full course covering the basic principles and economic impact of patents, patentability, and enforcement.

Part 3 - Study and Exam Experience

A few practical notes for anyone planning to take DL-101 and/or DL-170.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are DL-101 and DL-170 Worth It?

• If you're looking for practical engineering knowledge...
• If you're preparing for patent drafting...
• If you simply need a certificate...

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