Third-level institutes to provide IP free to help end Covid-19 crisis

A new non-exclusive royalty-free licence has been created to allow Irish researchers to share intellectual property with industry to help bring an end to the Covid-19 crisis.

It is hoped the new licence will enable third level institutions to assist businesses to diagnose, prevent, contain, treat and/or minimise the impact of the coronavirus.

The new two-page template has been drawn up by Knowledge Transfer Ireland – the national body that supports research commercialisation – and the technology transfer offices at a number of Irish universities and institutes of technology.

Dr Alison Campbell, director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland, said there had been widespread buy-in from educational institutes to aid the national response to the crisis.

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“IP is a precious commodity, a commodity that industry is always keen to access and that has a value, for which higher education institutes seek a fair return. These are not normal times, however, and the aim is to fast track Covid-specific IP into development as swiftly as possible,” said Dr Campbell.

“Our aim is to make sure companies are aware of the potential IP in existence in the Irish research base. By making it simpler to access we hope that this resource can be utilised when it is most urgently needed. Speed is of the essence,” she added.

The new licence will be available until such time as the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the current Covid-19 pandemic to have ended.