Intellectual Property Aspects of Australias National Innovation Strategy

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Intellectual Property Aspects of Australias
National Innovation Strategy

• Tegan BrinkAustralian Permanent Mission to the
  WTO
• tegan.brink_at_dfat.gov.au
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]

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National Innovation Summit

• Year 2000 Innovation Unlocking the Future
• Government and Business Initiative to examine
  current national innovation system against our
  emerging needs.
• Broad participation from Government, industry and
  research community
• Aim to develop consensus on how to strengthen
  innovation and improve commercialisation of
  Australian RD.

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• 6 Working Groups met in the 8 months leading up
  to the Summit and received public submissions.
• Included a working group on Intellectual Property
  to explore Australias national IP system and
  identify aspects that inhibit or enhance
  innovation.
• Reports of Working Groups brought together at
  Innovation Summit under 3 themes
• (i) Creating a competitive environment, (ii)
  Investing in new ideas, and (iii) Building
  industry-research linkages
• Innovation Summit Implementation Group set up to
  advise on how to operationalise outcomes.

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National Innovation Strategy

• Backing Australia's Ability (BAA) launched in
  2001
• five year AUD 3 billion initiative aimed at
  building Australia's future through science and
  innovation.  
• 3 themes
• strengthening Australia's ability to generate
  ideas and undertake research
• accelerating the commercialisation of ideas, and
  
• developing and retaining skills
• Supplemented in 2004 by BAA Building our future
  through Science and Innovation
• a additional 5.3 billion commitment to 2011.
• Over all, a 8.3 billion integrated 10-year
  commitment to science and innovation.

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IP Aspects

• IP only a small part of the over all strategy
  but an important part
• Knowledge a key driver of social and economic
  development
• IP fundamental to applying commercialising
  ideas
• Promotes RD, investment and technology transfer.
• Central to building a strong innovation system in
  Australia

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3 IP Goals

• Strengthening the protection for Australian ideas
  through reforms to the IP system.  
• Improved IP awareness initiatives.  
• Improved management of IP by public research
  agencies and universities to strengthen the
  translation of research into new products and
  processes.

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(1) Reforms to the IP system.  

• Implementing a 12 month grace period in the
  patent system.
• Strengthening the examination of patent novelty
  and inventive step so that these criteria for
  patentability are more closely aligned with
  international standards.
• Introducing the Innovation Patent to cover lower
  level inventions.
• Introducing a new designs system.
• Acceding to the Madrid Protocol treaty.

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(2) Improved IP awareness initiatives

• Establishing an internet IP portal
• www.ipaccess.gov.au
• Establishing an IP research centre to provide
  independent multi-disciplinary input into IP
  policy formulation
• IP Research Institute of Australia
  (www.ipria.org)
• Boosting tertiary research sector IP awareness
  programs
• Incorporating IP into education curricula through
  'InnovatED
• program which includes a teachers web-site with
  lesson plans

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(3) Improved IP Management by Public Research
Agencies Universities

• Making Australian Research Council (ARC) funding
  conditional on applicants having in place IP
  policies and commercialisation strategies.
• Related Commercialisation initiatives
• Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET)
  Program
• Cooperative Research Centres

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Conclusion

• Relationship between IP and innovation complex
  and multidisciplinary.
• Access to IP systems by SMEs an important part of
  the IP Development debate.
• For further information, see
• http//backingaus.innovation.gov.au
• http//backingaus.innovation.gov.au/2001/statement
  /DEST_IR_backing_aust_R.pdf (2005-2006 Innovation
  Report)