An intellectual property policy comprises the policies and procedures set up by a company, a state, or an institution that relate to creating, using or disseminating its
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
. The purpose of the intellectual property policy is to foster the creation and dissemination of
knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is disti ...
and to provide certainty in individual and institutional rights associated with ownership and with the distribution of benefits that may be derived from the creation of intellectual property.
Different types of IP policies
National IP policies express the intent of a country to use the intellectual property system in a defined manner to achieve a stated goal. National IP strategies are measures taken by a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
to realize its IP policy objectives. Many IP-related policies and strategies promote
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
and
innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a ...
and encourage the transfer and
dissemination of technology.
Institutional IP policies are policies put in place by
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
or
research institutions
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often ...
to address IP issues typically encountered during collaboration with external parties and commercialization of academic research. An institutional IP policy must comply with all relevant national policies and strategies. There will be circumstances in which national laws impose limitations on how individual universities and research institutions can deal with IP rights or share benefits. Subject to those limitations, each institution may regulate the principles of ownership of IP rights through its internal IP policy, employment contracts and other contractual arrangements.
Companies IP policies are policies put in place by a company to provide general guidance related to the importance of identifying internal IP, managing the disclosure of IP to customers, suppliers, or other third parties, summarizing the goals of IP ownership, outlining typical terms for interacting with strategic partners etc.
IP policies for universities and research institutions
Universities and research institutions seeking to partner with industry or other organizations can adopt a policy for effective intellectual property (IP) management and technology transfer. Such policies provide structure, predictability, and an environment, in which commercialization partners (industrial sponsors, consultants, non-profit organizations,
SMEs, governments) and research stakeholders (researchers, technicians, students, visiting researchers, etc.) can access and share knowledge, technology and IP.
The main goals of an institutional IP policy are to provide legal certainty, promote scientific research and technological development, encourage researchers to consider the possible opportunities for exploiting an invention so as to increase the potential flow of benefits to society, provide an environment that supports and encourages innovation and development, balance the various conflicting interests of universities, industry and society, and ensure compliance with applicable national laws and regulations.
An institutional IP policy is a formal document which typically deals with
* ownership of and right to use the IP
* procedures for identification, evaluation, protection and management of IP;
* procedures for cooperation with third parties;
* guidelines on the sharing of profits from successful commercialization;
* mechanisms to ensure respect for third-party
IP rights
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
.
An institutional IP policy is usually part of the broader regulatory framework of an institution. As such, it must be coherent and compliant with the other acts or policies put in place, especially those related closely to the scope of the institutional IP policy. This is the case notably for policies regulating:
* a specific type of IP or asset (e.g.
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
,
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...
,
utility model
A utility model is a patent-like intellectual property right to protect inventions. This type of right is available in many countries but, notably, not in the United States, United Kingdom or Canada. Although a utility model is similar to a patent ...
s,
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
);
* ownership of copyrighted material created by staff and students including, but not limited to, teaching material, course material, software, dissertations, project reports and theses;
* collaboration with industry;
* use of
third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...
materials;
* dealing with
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...
;
*
licensing
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
and assigning rights;
* application of
limitations and exceptions;
* user-generated content in
e-learning
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
;
*
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre o ...
policies and strategies;
* copyright in
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...
materials;
* IP issues in websites;
*
open educational resources
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify. The term "OER" describes publicly accessible materials and ...
(OER).
*
confidentiality
Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information.
Legal confidentiality
By law, lawyers are often required ...
;
* functioning of the institution's
Technology Transfer Office (if there is one);
* creation of institutional
spin-off companies.
No one model policy can be applied across all institutions or countries or companies, since there are important country-specific differences as well as different levels of absorptive capacity (i.e. the capacity of local businesses to recognize the value of new external information, assimilate it and apply it to commercial ends).
Furthermore, countries and institutions are still experimenting with a mix of different institutional IP policies and practices, gathering evidence on what works and what does not. In some countries, operating an IP management system that meets the National IP policy is required. Making the policy easily and publicly available on the High Education Institution may be a recommendation, such as in Ireland, where a 2018 report showed the 91% of the studied institutions had and IP policy publicly available on their website.
WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...
hosts a
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...
of IP policies, manuals, and model agreements from Universities and Research Institutions worldwide.
Sources
See also
*
Technology transfer
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
*
Diffusion of innovations
Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. Everett Rogers, a professor of communication studies, popularized the theory in his book ''Diffusion of Innovations''; the boo ...
*
Invention
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an id ...
*
Technology licensing office University technology transfer offices (TTOs), or technology licensing offices (TLOs), are responsible for technology transfer and other aspects of the commercialization of research that takes place in a university. TTOs engage in a variety of comm ...
(TLO)
*
Technological revolution
A technological revolution is a period in which one or more technologies is replaced by another novel technology in a short amount of time. It is an era of accelerated technological progress characterized by new innovations whose rapid applica ...
*
Technology policy
There are several approaches to defining the substance and scope of technology policy.
According to the American scientist and policy advisor Lewis M. Branscomb, technology policy concerns the "public means for nurturing those capabilities and opt ...
*
Science policy
Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific disc ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lambert Toolkit
Intellectual property legislation