1. It is well recognized that in today’s world sustained competitive advantage depends essentially on the ability of organizations to create, manage and market “value-added” knowledge-based or intellectual assets to derive “first in the market” advantage. As fountainheads of excellence and wellsprings of knowledge, educational institutions play a key role in developing and nurturing, in an organized manner, human resources needed for creating high value-adding employees and entrepreneurs for the marketplace.
2. In the context of a widening and deepening university-industry interface, there has been a significant rise in industrial consultancy assignments, contract research, sponsored collaborations, and creation of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary teams with university and industry participation. Through such working relationships, the industry gains access to world-class research resources and the best of human minds while, at the same time, students, researchers and faculty in academic institutions discover an additional sense of purpose, gain exposure to demands of market realities, expand their knowledge base to create new products
and technologies and also explore new career options. Such symbiotic relationships pave the way to productive knowledge networks, enrichment of the educational systems with the experiences and needs of the real business world, creation of well-prepared human resources, and, last but not the least, the nurturing of an innovation culture.
3. A prerequisite for a harmonious working relationship between industry and academia is a clear, cogent and transparent framework for “ownership” of the new or original knowledge for “fair sharing of benefits” resulting from the commercial or business application of the research results of their joint endeavours. In a close working relationship, the collaborating partners need to freely share their respective knowledge, information and resources. To sustain creativity and innovation in such a working paradigm, using the system of intellectual property rights (IPRs) for fair and equitable sharing of benefits of new or
original knowledge is a dire necessity in today’s environment. This requires a paradigm shift in the value system of researchers in academic institutions. Only then can they hope to learn the art of maximizing value creation and realize tangible financial benefits from their intellectual assets.
4. Managing all types of knowledge-related activities such as, creating, using, sharing, accessing, valuing and trading, depends on a proper understanding and appreciation of the system of IPRs. Therefore, all features of the IPRs system are inseparable from that of knowledge management, as the IPRs system significantly influences the conception and strategic implementation of any research and development project or new product development project. Mapping ownership of knowledge ensures that there are no infringing overlaps and if there are any then appropriate arrangements are worked out to avoid disputes and litigation.
5. It is, therefore, imperative that national government, the private sector, and academic institutions put in a focused and cooperative effort to speedily evolve guidelines for implementing IPRs policies in educational and publicly-funded Research and Development institutions.
6. The primary aim of an institutional IPRs policy is to create an enabling environment that recognizes and values creativity and innovation, and simultaneously assists in translating these in an orderly fashion into products, processes and services for the widest public good. A good institutional IPRs policy sets forth transparent guidelines and benchmarks for ownership, protection and commercialization of the developed Intellectual Property (IP) while, at the same time, upholds the core moral values of students, academic researchers and
faculty, such as integrity, merit, academic freedom, and pursuit of excellence. Such a formalized platform helps immensely in preparing the students, researchers and faculty alike to meet the growing demands of the emerging knowledge economy, and to synergies effectively the transfer of technology from the laboratory to industry and business for maximizing value realization of their creative and innovative output and results for the benefit of both the institution and themselves. Further, it helps to create an ambience that promotes and nurtures the emergence of new ideas, new lines of enquiry and research, scholarship and its practical application for solving technological problems; and this, in turn, promotes the emergence of the leaders and innovators of tomorrow.