For good management of intellectual property in universities

Abstract

The study examines the management of intellectual property in universities and the relationship of encouragement established between them and the private sector for innovation. It starts from public policies fostering research, with reference to the Programme for Stimulating University-Company Interaction established by Law 10.168/2000, and surveys the requirements of the creations protected by Law 9.279/96 — novelty, inventive step and industrial application —, the distinction between invention patent, utility model and industrial design, the territoriality of protection and the option for trade secret where the technique is not patentable. It addresses management through intellectual property contracts and the tension between patent exclusivity and free competition, noting that a scope of protection that is too narrow offers insufficient incentive to innovate while one that is too broad hinders innovation. It discusses the new mission assigned to universities, which come to manage the transfer to companies and to society of the knowledge they produce, and the risks of commodification of knowledge and of teaching. It holds that a balance between theoretical and applied research is required, as is an understanding of the patent system within a humanitarian and global focus.