The University of New South Wales will offer the majority of its intellectual property to companies for free, it announced on 9 November. The Easy Access IP strategy will be implemented by Kevin Cullen, the new head of NewSouth Innovations, the university’s commercialisation company.
UNSW will join just a handful of universities worldwide, including the University of Glasgow, Kings College London and the University of Copenhagen, that are using this approach to encourage greater collaboration between universities and industry.
Under the strategy, a selection of UNSW’s intellectual property will be offered to the private sector to develop for free, with simplified agreements replacing long licensing negotiations.
According to Cullen, the small proportion of IP where UNSW can identify significant commercial value will be exploited with commercial partners.
IP offered under the Easy Access portfolio will be subject to three conditions: companies must acknowledge UNSW’s contribution and report on the progress; companies agree that if they have not exploited the IP within three years, it will be transferred back to UNSW; there will be no limitations on UNSW’s use of the IP for the university’s own research.
Under the strategy, Easy Access IP offerings will be viewed via technology web portals and businesses will be able to contact NewSouth Innovations to gain access to the technology.