[Fsfe-ie] ISA calls for stronger IP rights in Ireland

[Justin Mason]

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The Irish Software Association gets the wrong end of the stick
entirely regarding IP, patents, etc.:

  "Ireland must establish itself as the most intellectual property
  rights-friendly country with very low barriers to technology transfer
  and commercial exploitation within Ireland," she said.

  "There is a great opportunity for Ireland to benefit from the area of
  IP," she said. "Ireland needs to be the place where companies go to
  file patents and do research. ...

ick!  Anyone care to rebut this nicely?  I know one of the executive
council guys and can pass on a mail.

- --j.


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040316/95/eopkt.html

Tuesday March 16, 05:26 PM


New models for software R&D urged

By Anthony Quinn

The Irish software industry must find more successful models of
commercialising third level research, according to the Irish Software
Association.

Ireland's EUR1.3 billion indigenous software market needs to commercialise
more research from third level institutions if it is to remain a serious
competitor in the global software development market, according to
Bernadette Cullinan, Performix Technologies' chief operating officer
and an ISA executive member.

There is currently little effective collaboration between the Irish
software sector and third level institutions, noted the Performix
Technologies COO at the second ISA-sponsored Open Forum series. "But
we believe there is tremendous opportunity to sharpen Ireland's
competitiveness and to generate research that is commercially viable,"
she said.

"The software sector is seeking a way for effective and commercially
viable management of intellectual property rights creation between the
industry and the third level sector," Cullinan added.

Currently EUR2.5 billion of the National Development Plan is spent on
research and 50 percent of the SFI's EUR646 million research funding is
going to software research," noted John Shiel, chairperson of the Irish
Software Association competitiveness sub-committee.

"The fact is it is difficult to identify a company with more than 10
employees that has emerged from a university, which strongly suggests
that the current model is broken," he said. The ISA will be working to
develop a proposed model that will address these issues, said Shiel.

One of the main problems in Ireland is that it is often unclear who owns
the intellectual property (IP) for research, according to ISA director
Kathryn Raleigh. If it is jointly-funded research, there may be barriers
in place or conditions attached, she said. "Investors often won't touch
the research if that is the case," she told ElectricNews.Net.

"Ireland must establish itself as the most intellectual property
rights-friendly country with very low barriers to technology transfer
and commercial exploitation within Ireland," she said.

"There is a great opportunity for Ireland to benefit from the area of
IP," she said. "Ireland needs to be the place where companies go to
file patents and do research. It is relatively easy to commercialise and
transfer technology but there is a lot more that we can do," according
to Raleigh.

There is willingness for collaboration on all sides, added Professor
Kevin Ryan of the University of Limerick. What has hampered the progress
is the misunderstanding between industry and academia on use of research
and goals, he added.

Guidelines for the successful commercialisation of research are currently
being drafted by government advisory board the Irish Council for Science,
Technology & Innovation.

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