Intellectual Property and technology transfer commercialisation hubs

Intellectual Property System

Aleck Ncube, Intellectual Property
SUCCESSFUL technology commercialisation relies on coordinated action between research universities, Incubation Hubs, and industry. It requires a mix of human, financial, and institutional resources. Industry is usually the primary channel for commercialisation and universities lack direct control over the amount of licence revenue generated.

The success of licensees, and thus the licence income generated, depends on market factors such as timing, funding, and marketing. Licensing income helps universities invest in infrastructure to support students and capital projects, and also directly funds both student and faculty researchers.

Without this licensing income, a university or research institution’s ability to create the impact, through the new innovation disclosures, new licences, and new patent, copyright and trademark filings, diminishes. Most importantly, technology commercialisation relies on a robust innovation ecosystem, which is constituted by investment of university, government, and corporate R&D programmes and grants, the setting up of Incubation Hubs, venture capital and seed-expansion, as well as support services for start-ups in accounting, law, and marketing.

The diversity of actors and support services of an innovation ecosystem results in thick markets for technology commercialisation, enabling SMEs to leverage the multiple institutional, financial and human resources in which they are embedded.

Innovators can rely on this ecosystem to seek help in negotiating flexible license terms, developing business models, recruiting talent, securing funds, and partnering with developers. The role of government support is important. The use of licensing in the developing world is frustrated by thin markets for technology.

IP enforcement is necessary in order for the IP system to act as an enabling environment for generating more licensing revenue. Companies need assurance that, if they pay for licenses, others will not simply steal technology, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

Enforcement must be pursued in tandem with a more comprehensive approach to technology transfer, which recognizes the importance of Incubation Hubs, venture capital and monetisation support services. The existence of professional associations that collect information relating to technology transfer and reflect on the process and impact of commercialisation is tremendously valuable.

One such association is the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). It has been at the forefront of funding, compiling, and publishing academic technology transfer data, particularly in North America.

This form of impact assessment is vital in order to understand the role of Incubation Hubs and other organizations in patent monetisation. AUTM has developed a universal licensing survey in order to support technology transfer globally through accurate impact measurement. Policymakers in developing countries should help domestic actors access these resources. Professional technology transfer associations are a valuable resource for Incubation Hubs in the developing world.

Incubation Hubs play an important role in supporting the monetisation of IP while simultaneously fostering knowledge spillovers. They are particularly valuable for Zimbabwe due to the thin technology markets in the country. When a country lacks adequate market-driven processes to spur licensing revenue, Incubation Hubs should step in to foster stronger innovation ecosystems.

Many developing countries have established Incubation Hubs to provide financial support, training, identify potential alliances, brokerage services, and legal advice during licensing and equipment purchases.

Incubation Hubs also provide Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)-related technology transfer incentives to multinational corporations in an effort to increase the flow of technology into their borders. FDI incentive programs often include mandatory provisions for the training of local innovators and the establishment of long-term business partnerships.

This is necessary because, although FDI is an important channel for the transfer of technology, it does not guarantee efficient transfer unless it guarantees a level of commitment to local capacity building initiatives.

Studies done elsewhere suggest that the rate of successful technology transfer can vary greatly depending on the level of socio-economic development within a country. While strong IP protection may result in net licensing imports in the short-term, effectively managed technology transfer can help importing countries acquire critical know-how and stimulate commercial capacity in the long term.

As experience with technology transfer grows, Incubation Hubs implement a range of sophisticated mechanisms to ensure that they act as an enabler of IP commercialisation in their institutions. Incubation Hubs promote research and development with the aim of increasing economic value in a number of important technology fields.

They facilitate the transfer of technology from developed economies and multinational corporations to local SMEs and research institutes. These are some of the important roles, universities and Incubation Hubs play in leveraging IP-based growth. The strategic management of IP by Incubation Hubs fuels the transferof patents from publically-funded research universities to local firms who then commercialise the technology.

Incubation Hubs staff are pivotal in early spin-off efforts in the developing world. The transfer of know-how, skills and technical knowledge is an integral part of effective technology transfer. IP management and monetisation is a key component of Incubation Hubs. The activities of Incubation Hubs call for multiple strategies to be implemented to facilitate domestic R&D and commercialisation capacity.

As developing countries continue to consolidate their IP regimes, Incubation Hubs play an important role in attracting foreign companies with valuable IP into their borders and supporting domestic innovation processes by fostering extensive working relationships. A number of coordinated mechanisms can help to aid this process. Local Incubation Hubs should learn from the experiences of successful initiatives in pursuing their goal of helping local SMEsand innovators to access new technologies and monetise them.

Policy makers must appreciate the value of Incubation Hubs and recognise the different goals that they can achieve. An Incubation Hub could extend and offer help to licensees under its wings by supporting business plan development, securing funding and recruiting talent. The setting up of Incubation Hubs makes it easy as research, development and monetisation processes are rolled into a single entity in order to promote technology transfer and licensing revenues in specific industries.

Establishing Incubation Hubs in Zimbabwe and integrating them into the global network of technology transfer associations is a powerful instrument to support commercialisation processes domestically by systematically sharing experiences, information and practices relating to technology licensing.

*Aleck Ncube is an intellectual property scholar based in Bulawayo. He can be contacted on Mobile: +263712374408 Skype: Matintas1 Twitter: @aleckncube Alternative E-mail: aleckncube@gmail.

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