NEICO partner universities win financial support for the transfer of IPR promotion schemes
University partners in the pilot project 'NEICO' - Network for European innovation cooperation - are attracting strong financial support at both national and international level for the transfer of intellectual property rights (IPR schemes). NEICO, which is co-financed by the European Commission's Fourth Framework Programme, was set up to help universities overcome barriers preventing researchers from patenting their inventions It aims to support the exploitation of R&D results, awareness of IPR and the use of patents in European higher education institutions (HEIs). The project was launched in December 1998 and the consortium partners include the University of Bonn / EuroConsult 'Research & Education', Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Politecnico di Milano, Dublin Institute of Technology, Finntech Finnish Technology Ltd Oy, Loughborough University and the University of Bielefeld. The NEICO project provides four schemes - already used by individual consortium members - aimed at reducing barriers related to the patenting of R&D results. 'The adaptation and implementation of one or more of these schemes at an HEI result in an improvement of the communication structures, specific tools facilitate the evaluation and classification of inventions, and IPR management structures provide permanent services and support for the academic and administrative staff,' says the NEICO team. The consortium members make use of different regional contexts to adapt, test and evaluate the four schemes, entitled UPAS, SAFE, BUS and InnoTUL. On the basis of the schemes provided, the partners have elaborated their own IPR management programmes. 'The amount of funds granted clearly shows that the policy levels in the partner countries have recognised the need for actions supporting the management and protection of intellectual property in HEIs,' the consortium add. The NEICO group has no shortage of examples illustrating the trend: - The NEICO partner Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) is currently putting their adaptation of the SAFE scheme into practice, which they have called TRIP. The NEICO project contributes 15,000 euro to the TRIP implementation costs (an estimated 134,150 euro in total). In addition to 18,000 euro acquired from the regional government, a fund of about 50,000 euro was recently granted by the national Ministry for Education and Culture, combined with the request to disseminate the TRIP scheme on a national level. - Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau (X-Technologies) has acquired funds from the 'département de l'Essonne' for the implementation of their programme X-INVENTION (38,000 euro a year for three years), whose aim is to create high-tech enterprises on the basis of intellectual property. In addition, a new incubator will be built at X-Technologies with support from local industry. There are now plans to set up two private companies on the grounds of Ecole Polytechnique, dealing with the protection of intellectual property and seed funds for the start-up of high-tech companies, which will then be partly owned by industrial partners. - As a member of a network with local industry and banks, called 'Politecnico Innovazione', NEICO partner Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) acquired a permanent financial fund of 80,000 euro per year to finance the costly procedure of patent application. 'This fund will help to make the patent office, created at POLIMI within the framework of the NEICO project, a sustainable structure,' says the NEICO group. - The University of Bielefeld has also received a fund of about 63,000 euro from the Ministry of Research and Education of North Rhine-Westphalia for their programme to raise awareness for patents in the university. 'Although the project has not yet been completed, the results [so] far clearly show that not only the NEICO partners, but also their regional innovation networks derive benefit from the EC-funded project. The funds acquired provide impressive proof that the partners have already succeeded in the creation of sustainable structures for the promotion of IPR use and management,' says the NEICO coordinator.