Analytics, Education and Science, EU – Baltic States, Modern EU
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 29.03.2024, 09:50
Turning European researchers to intellectual rights’ protection
The European
Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) recently urged the decision-makers
and researchers to increase the importance of sciences’ potentials in
socio-economic development. Among main directions the ALLEA’s recommendations
include managing the so-celled intangible assets or intellectual
property rights (IPRs).
More on ALLEA’s activities in: www.allea.org
Background
ALLEA involves European academies in the elaboration of
science-based policies by providing policymakers and the general public with
interdisciplinary scientific expertise and evidence. Specifically, ALLEA
engages its members in the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism
(SAM) via Science Advice for Policy by European Academies, SAPEA.
Besides, ALLEA provides the EU member states’ academies with
inter-disciplinary scientific advices in cooperation with the SAM and SAPEA
projects. For example, one of the ALLEA’s working groups deals with the
national research policy’s effect on intellectual property rights.
Among the ALLEA’s priorities for 2024, are such spheres as: “incentivizing
and promotion of multidisciplinarity, mobility, international cooperation and
impact to benefit societal wellbeing and enhancing economic growth”, as well as
the implementation of the EU’s research framework programs, including “open
science and data, digital research infrastructures, as well as the legal and
intellectual property frameworks for enabling excellent science and research in
Europe”.
Citation from: https://allea.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ALLEA_Strategic_Priorities_2019-2024_digital.pdf
Present ALLEA’s initiative
Modern –the fourth in line - industrial revolution has increased
the IPRs’ relevance in modern economies’ potentials and socio-economic
development through numerous digital services, ICT software and other patented
technologies.
More in: https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab
These trends, as depicted in the present ALLEA’s
recommendations*), have resulted in “fundamental rethinking and a cultural
change in the management of intellectual property rights’ portfolios in
scientific organisations and companies”. In its statement, ALLEA addresses this “relevant shift in socio-economic
development” from tangible to intangible assets; at the same time by urging the
academic institutions to “adequately adopt” the IPR strategies which would ensure
an optimal knowledge transfer for the benefits of society at large.
The ALLEA’s initiative also presents “some options” to the European
and national legislators on ways “to incentivize the transition of publicly
funded research results into IP-protected innovative products and processes”.
*) More in ALLEA’s statement: https://allea.org/academic-institutions-need-to-adapt-ipr-strategies-to-fulfil-their-role-in-europes-innovation-ecosystem/
National Academies’ issues
The ALLEA’s initiative is covering some other important
issues, which would be under attention by the national academies and science
policy’s providers, including:
-
Most beneficial for modern societies “knowledge
transfer” from science research to practical implementation;
-
Instigating the public-private partnership (PPP)
process to stimulate a quicker and effective innovative processes;
-
“Optimal transfer” of publicly funded research
into innovative products and services;
-
Assisting in drafting the most optimal “research
commercialization” structures in existing national political economies’
narratives; and
-
Specifying active “open science” approaches to
IPRs.
These are just some of the most urgent and –consequently-
most difficult aspects of national scientific potentials’ involvement in
present socio-economic development.
Formulating these issues in the academic agendas can serve
to reach the following outcomes for the national science policies and perspective
growth: - establishing adequate legal IPRs framework; - providing for economic
and tax incentives in using publicly funded research; - supporting cooperation
among academic institutions; and – activating the work of national technology
transfer offices (TTOs).
Note: The European
Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (created in 1994) represents
over 50 European academies with the ideas of promoting science as a global
public good and facilitating scientific cooperation across borders and
disciplines. ALLEA strives to improve the member states’ abilities for science
and research by providing best independent and interdisciplinary science advice
to strengthen the role of science in society.