State to harvest IP rights

By Leon Engelbrecht for Department of Science and Technology
Johannesburg, 10 Jul 2007

A new law that could be tabled in Parliament this Friday and enacted this year, will allow the state to benefit from patents and trademarks developed from research paid for by the government.

This includes research funded in part or wholly by, for example, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research`s Meraka Institute.

The Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research Bill will also benefit black economic empowerment (BEE) firms, as well as small and medium enterprises.

Matlu Mabokano, manager of hydrogen and energy at the Department of Science and Technology (DST), says the draft law will seek to stimulate intellectual property generation in the public sector.

He adds the public can comment on the Bill until 18 July. "There was extensive consultation during the policy formulation phase. Some of the submissions received repeat input made then," Mabokano says.

Input to date has been spotty and has mostly consisted of requests for the deadline to be extended, he adds. This was done, the date moving from 22 June to later this month. The move is responsible for the twin-track approach being used, with the Bill heading for Parliament this week, although the window for submissions is still open.

Mabokano says submissions have so far arrived in dribs and drabs, but he expects that to change next week, when the window closes. "I have learned that we, as South Africans, always wait for the last moment. I can assure you by next week Wednesday we will have an avalanche," he says.

A look at the Bill

The headnote explains the Bill will:

* Provide for the establishment of a dedicated fund to finance the securing of intellectual property rights resulting from publicly-financed research;
* Provide for a uniform system of intellectual property management, through establishment of the function of a National Intellectual Property Management Office (Nipmo);
* Provide for more effective protection of intellectual property emanating from publicly-financed research;
* Give preference to small and medium enterprises and broad-based BEE entities in granting of licences to commercialise intellectual property derived from publicly-financed research; and
* Provide for benefit sharing by inventor-employees, and their institutions.

In addition to Nipmo, a new agency is to be established in the DST. Each state research institution, such as Meraka, will have to establish within six months of the Act coming into effect, an Institutional Intellectual Property Management Office to manage and commercialise IP emanating from that institution.

The institution will have worldwide ownership of all IP emanating from its research.

Should the institution concerned not wish to take ownership of the IP, Nipmo "shall be entitled to acquire ownership of the IP".