INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
campusreview.com.au
One-stop IP shop
Government introduces website that lists
patents of Australia’s research institutions.
By James Wells
T
he federal government has launched
a match-making website where
companies can search all the
intellectual property patents Australia’s
universities and public research bodies hold.
The assistant minister for innovation, Wyatt
Roy, launched Source IP in late November.
It was developed by government to bridge
the gap between research and industry.
Public spending on research in Australia is
strong, at $9.7 billion a year, sitting in the top
eight on the 2015 World Economic Forum
competitiveness rankings. But Australia is
25th in commercialising this research.
Roy says Source IP is an opportunity to
bridge this gap.
“Source IP, developed by IP Australia,
serves as a free, single portal for information
sharing, licensing preferences and facilitating
contact for intellectual property generated
by the public research sector in Australia,” he
says in a statement. “And it directly supports
the aim of putting innovation at the heart of
our economic agenda.”
Every Australian university has listed its
patents on the website – highlighting the
ones that can be licensed. Universities
Australia welcomes Source IP and says it’s
easy to use and understand.
“It’s been designed to be as easy as
possible and one of the good things
about the site is the easy to understand
logos put against all the IP that [indicate]
whether they’re available to license or not,”
says Sarah Brown, UA’s policy director for
research and innovation. “It makes it easy,
visually, for businesses to see what might
be out there as a potential technology for
them to take on.”
The information technology industry’s
peak body, the Australian Information
Industry Association, says Source IP is sorely
needed. Suzanne Campbell, chief executive
of AIIA, says the site is a small step in breaking
down the barriers between industry and
research. This is necessary, she says, for
Australia to transition from a labour-based
economy to a knowledge-based one.
Innovation, derived by breaking down these
barriers is essential for this, Campbell says.
She says she hopes Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull’s innovation statement
reflects this message.
“The AIIA is hoping initiatives like Source
IP will be incorporated into a much broader,
clearer, louder, more ambitious vision for
Australia and with an actionable plan for
outcomes that will exploit the opportunities of
digital distraction and put Australian creators
of innovation and change in a powerful
place,” she says. “One where they can support
innovation and growth into the future.”
To do this, government should remove
barriers to competition and make sustained
investment into Australia’s research
structure, Campbell argues.
Brown says universities want innovation
and are taking steps to make Australia
more innovative.
“All of our universities are doing a whole
range of initiatives to improve the translation
of research into outcomes, whether they be
commercialisation outcomes or public policy
or improvements to health services,” she
says. “The university sector really committed
to this. Look at some of the press reports
toda HX