Basics in intellectual property

aka

What to do when research takes you

towards something valuable

The paradox

Research world «share, publish or perish»

Market world «protect, keep secret or perish»

Intellectual property building blocks

Tools Patent Copyright Trade secret Trademark

Contracts

Licence of technology Non disclosure agreement Research contract

Technology transfer project

Investigator and

research

Contract

Tool

Tools

Patent

Requisites Novelty Inventive step Industriability

Duration 20 years

Protect technical solutions to technical problems

Strenght Great protection

Weakness Expensive mainteinance and complex procedure

Patenting regulations @ Unitn

• Aimed to employees (professors, assistant professors, technical and administrative staff)

• Patenting procedures at Unitn expenses

• Royalties: 70% to inventors - 30% to Unitn

• Forms to fill (technology disclosure)

• Prior art research

• University patents committee

• Licensing strategy

Copyright, aka «the right to copy»

don’t protect the content or the concept

Applied in automatic You have to prove your authorship in case of challenge Weak protection

Duration 70 years after the death of the author

Trade secret

Legal

Trademark To be considered if you create a spin off/start up or if you want to

register the name of a specific technology you have patented

Long term investment

Expensive

Contracts

License of technology

licensor Licencee

Key clauses Duration Country Sector Royalties/lump sum Responsibilities

Non disclosure agreement

Contents

What is confidential, better if written in details and attached What happens if the parties break the agreement How long lasts the binding

Types

One way agreement Two way agreement

Research contract

Exchange money for Intellectual property rights (patents, copyright…) and/or know how The contract schedules technical deliverables and corrisponding payments Normally research contracts limit the dissemination of results Follow the procedure of Unitn “conto terzi” regulations