By YOKE HAR LEE
At least two New Zealand universities are deciding how to protect their intellectual property and develop value from research work.
Professor Marston Conder, Auckland University's vice-chancellor (research), said it was looking at the issue because a single policy was inadequate to cover the broad spectrum from fundamental scientific breakthroughs to works of arts.
But in the area of development from scientific research, there was no intention to change the ownership structure, which now rested with the university's commercial arm, Auckland UniServices.
Victoria University is also developing a policy to deal with the ownership of intellectual property from research.
Dr John Morrow, assistant vice-chancellor (research), said the issue of what constituted intellectual property and its ownership was complex.
Intellectual property lawyer Earl Gray, of Simpson Grierson, said: "The ownership of the intellectual property depends on the relationship between the researcher and the institution.
"That's easier to deal with when its tangible, especially if there is a patent. What is more difficult is that when people go, they have half-finished ideas which remain in their head."
The researcher might be the only person who understood the work and could create further developments, he said.
UniServices's chief executive, Dr John Kernohan, said there had been only a few instances where ownership of intellectual property was contested, but generally UniServices had good relationships with the university's various research departments.
UniServices had licensing deals with about 20-30 companies.
"The large institutions that we talk to overseas would rather deal with intellectual property that is owned by the university in a clearcut way," said Dr Kernohan.
Universities had to act in good faith, giving researchers a share of the commercial benefits, he said.
Waikato University is having to calculate the value of its intellectual property after key researcher Professor Nigel Sammes was headhunted to the United States.
It will put a monetary value on his ground-breaking work on fuel cells.
Professor Michael Selby, deputy vice-chancellor (research), said it remained to be seen how negotiations with Professor Samme's new employer work out.
Dr Steve Thompson, the chief executive of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, said intellectual property protection would develop strongly over the next few years.
"We are all going to get better at finding who uses it, where its value lies and how to use it.
"All the players are going to be more experienced."
In some countries, such as the United States, legislation prohibited the export of strategic knowledge, for instance, encryption technology.
Professor Garth Cooper, of Auckland University, had experienced the prohibitive cost of "exporting" knowledge when he was in Britain.
"In circumstances in which the loss of strategic knowledge could be detrimental to New Zealand industry, is that something we would want to worry about?" he said.
"The answer is probably yes, but I don't know where the boundaries are."
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