Glasgow pioneers free intellectual property for industry
08 December 2010
In an initiative that has important implications for the UK’s innovation-led design and technology industries, the University of Glasgow is to offer Intellectual Property to businesses and entrepreneurs free of charge – including ground-breaking medical and scientific research. Cutting edge innovation and patents will be immediately and directly available to those companies and individuals who can make best use of the research through a dedicated University of Glasgow portal.
By speeding up and simplifying IP transfer, the move will revolutionise the relationship between academic research and commercial enterprises, leading to further collaboration with companies and long-term industry partnerships. It is expected to be particularly attractive to small and medium-sized businesses.
“This move is of real importance to innovation-led design firms, as it opens up the market and provides greater opportunities for commercial partnerships,” said Maxine Horn, CEO of British Design Innovation, the trade organisation for leading industrial designers, service designers and innovation professionals.
“It also bodes well for our University Design Industry Partnership, an initiative between 14 leading universities and BDI’s design-led member firms.”
Doug Richard, a former ‘dragon’ on the BBC TV series Dragon’s Den, is also an enthusiastic supporter of Glasgow's initiative. He said: “Providing easy access to University IP will increasingly be one of the key drivers that helps British business keep pace with global competitors.
“I welcome this bold move, which encourages greater and, crucially, quicker cooperation between research and industry to give companies who make use of it the competitive edge.”
“We aim to transfer as much IP into commercial use as we can,” said Principal Anton Muscatelli of Glasgow’s innovative approach, which has been endorsed by industrial funders and Research Councils UK.
For Easy Access IP, click here.
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