Legal Issues for the Third Level Sector

“I spent the morning at a seminar on Legal Issues for the Third Level Sector hosted by the Arthur Cox Technology & Intellectual Property Group. The morning was chaired by Rob Corbet. First up were …” (more)

[Eoin O’Dell, Cearta, 15 October]

Advertisement

Giving up IP rights may maximise gains, v-c claims

“Strategy ties ‘enlightened self-interest’ to creation and spread of knowledge. Giving up intellectual property rights stemming from academics’ work can help universities increase the income generated from research and retain their best staff …” (more)

[Hannah Fearn, Times Higher Education, 29 July]

It’s patently unfair: scholar calls for IP reform

“Universities are losing millions of pounds a year managing their intellectual property rights thanks to a patenting system that favours the business sector, it has been warned. A technology transfer expert has called for an overhaul to stem the financial waste caused by the system …” (more)

[Hannah Fearn, Times Higher Education, 10 June]

Minister O’Keeffe pledges overhaul of intellectual property regime

“Ireland’s intellectual property regime is to be overhauled under plans to be revealed today [Tuesday] at the first meeting of a group set up to drive the recommendations of the Innovation Taskforce, according to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe …” (more)

[DETI, 1 June]

Innovation taskforce says 120,000 jobs can be created

“Close to 120,000 new jobs could be created if Ireland transforms itself into an innovation centre, according to the report from the Government’s Innovation Taskforce to be published tomorrow. But the final draft report – seen by The Irish Times – warns that a ‘sea change in attitudes towards innovation and enterprise is also required’ …” (more)

[Sean Flynn, Irish Times, 10 March]

High Court rejects university’s IP appeal

“A decision by the High Court of Australia earlier this month has dispelled assumptions by universities that they, as with private companies, automatically own the intellectual property rights to discoveries or inventions of their staff …” (more)

[Geoff Maslen, University World News, 28 February]

More to academic research than bottom-line returns

“In the Irish Times last Monday, the case for increased investment into IP commercialisation was argued. Although there is significant merit in the development of a more strategic approach to research investment, with funding to be provided for the commercialisation of intellectual property, the return from university research needs to be assessed by what it delivers to the country and the economy …” (more)

[Diarmuid O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 January]

Overcoming R&D’s law of diminishing returns

“In recent years there has been increased investment by Science Foundation Ireland in university research. The results are starting to show in a few key areas. However, it is unfair to assume that academia will be the sole vehicle to carry the economic benefits promised by the much-heralded Smart Economy …” (more)

[Raymond Hegarty, Irish Times, 4 January]

Academics, not universities, own their inventions

“A Federal Circuit Court judge has ruled that US universities cannot automatically claim ownership of a researcher’s federally funded invention. The judgement could protect academic inventors and students across America from being forced by universities to sign away the rights to their life’s work …” (more)

[Geoff Maslen, University World News, 1 November]

Pursuit of IP is ‘a distraction’

“An obsession with generating income from intellectual property (IP) is distracting universities from the real issues when engaging with business, a senior funding council official has said. David Sweeney, director for research, enterprise and skills at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the world’s most business-engaged university, earned only about 3 per cent of its total income from the IP created by its academics even though it did exceptionally well in this area …” (more)

[Hannah Fearn, Times Higher Education, 16 May]

The academic gold standard

“If you are an academic and you’ve made your way up the promotional ladder – let’s say you are a full professor – then you will have been a prolific publisher of books, monographs and refereed journal articles. And if I don’t immediately know about you, there are now various databases where I can look you up and find out what you’ve published – this is a good example. And if I need to make a judgement as to how good you are as an academic, then the information I find there will help me to make it. As has been mentioned before in this blog, that raises a few questions about whether and how we value excellence in teaching; but let us leave that aside for now. My concern here is something different: that there may be an increasingly significant conflict between this basis of advancing someone’s academic career on the one hand, and the interests of the university on the other …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 22 April]

New moves should boost investment in intellectual property

“There was at least one piece of good news in last Tuesday’s emergency budget, and a signal that the government is prepared to address the technology deficit in the tax code. Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan announced a scheme of tax relief for the acquisition of intangible assets, including intellectual property (IP) as a means of supporting the smart economy. Details of the scheme will be developed in conjunction with the Revenue Commissioners, and will be published in the Finance Bill. This measure will help to attract high-quality employment to this economy. This fundamental change in the taxation of intellectual property follows key commitments made in the government plan entitled Building Ireland’s Smart Economy – A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal …” (more)

[John Heffernan, Sunday Business Post, 12 April]

Universities as Copyright Regulators: Power and Example

“A few days ago, the MIT faculty unanimously adopted a university-wide OA mandate, which establishes as a default rule the obligation for MIT researchers to hand over a pre-print version of their scientific works for publishing it in an open access repository (see Open Access News). In a note on this decision, the chairman of the drafting committee Hal Abelson explains the context of this decision: ‘Our resolution was closely modelled on similar ones passed last February by Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and by the Harvard Law School, also passed by unanimous vote. Stanford’s School of Education did the same, as did Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government just last Monday.’ So, MIT’s step towards open access is an illustration of both an example of elite universities’ regulatory power and of the power of their example …” (more)

[Governance Across Borders, 21 March]

Tech transfer in the real world

“Various models for developing Ireland’s tech have been tried over the past decade, at a direct cost of several billion Euro the taxpayer. Medialab; SFI; this current project at UCD/TCD; the current grotesque behaviour by DCU about tenure in an attempt by a foreigner to debauch an Irish state institution. Indirect costs include the morale loss to Arts and humanities, the downgrading of Ireland’s traditional areas of excellence in theatre and literature, the students ‘asked’ at the universities to sign 100% control of the IP to the university before final exams and so abandoning the project, and the destruction of the informal civil society/state network structure of Ireland’s software industry described so well by O Riain. This writer has gone public on each occasion about why each of these initiatives is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Most of this comes from experience at working in silicon Valley, including sitting on boards of start-ups. There are two ways by which tech transfer can be operated successfully; both require a strong corporate enforcement structure. That Ireland does not have …” (more)

[Seán O Nualláin, University Blog on Academic Tenure, 11 March]