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

Eugene Eteris, LZA senior adviser, BC International Editor, Copenhagen, 13.11.2019.Print version
Modern Baltic States challenges require constant national academies’ attention to changing socio-economic and political environment in regard to science and research. Most timely response provided by the European academics’ confederation (ALLEA) is a vivid example of additional attention to the actively developing services and manufacturing sector, where intellectual property rights are needed a resolute national support.

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.

 

 

 






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