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A new Irish higher education review has set out a number of recommendations for strengthening intellectual property policies and procedures in the country¡¯s university sector.

, commissioned by the Higher Education Authority in partnership with Knowledge Transfer Ireland, examined the policies of 22 institutions ¨C seven universities, 14 institutes of technology and one specialist college ¨C through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. While recognising many areas of good practice, it pointed to a number of concerns, primarily in relation to conflicts of interest and spin-out companies.

The review called, for example, for all higher education institutions to develop ¡°a single IP policy covering all major commercialisation routes¡­to make it simple for researchers to understand the processes and their obligations¡±. This would include both ¡°a clear description of decision-making processes¡± and ¡°a dispute resolution procedure¡±, it said.

It was also essential to determine and agree ¡°the relative contributions from multiple creators of intellectual property¡­as part of the invention disclosure process¡±, and to confirm this before commercialisation, according to the review.

Although it acknowledged that ¡°the individual circumstances surrounding the formation of [spin-offs]¡± were very variable, the review also called for ¡°a common set of national principles that explain the basis upon which equity shares are taken¡±.

matthew.reisz@timeshighereducation.com