WP9 – Intellectual property protection and innovation capacity building

Work package leader: Petr Kopáček

Objective of WP9 is to increase awareness of MODBIOLIN participants on the procedures of intellectual property protection (authorship rights, patenting of inventions, etc.) and technology transfer; to test the efficiency of BCAS managerial infrastructure in handling inventions and to increase interactions of MODBIOLIN participants with the business sphere.

Main tasks

T 9.1: Background knowledge of ways to innovations

All team members will be acquainted with BCAS rules for the protection of intellectual property and encouraged to participate in the TTM e-learning course. Material for e-learning that is being used in current schooling will be upgraded for further use. Ten team members will pass the prescribed tests and receive diploma.

T 9.2: Inventions and their processing

MODBIOLIN researchers will use the services of the BCAS Office for technology transfer to identify findings for industrial protection. It is envisaged that one patent application will be submitted in each reporting period. Extension of patents to new territories can be also done as MODBIOLIN activity. If some proof-of-concept work will be needed, it will be supported from the MODBIOLIN budget.

T 9.3: Contacts with the business sphere

Contacts with the business sphere will also be fostered by MODBIOLIN project that will be represented at the CzechBio (Association of Czech Biotechnology Companies) and EBTNA (European Biotechnology Thematic Network Association) meetings and seminars. Relevant information (for example, specification of a problem that could be tackled by MODBIOLIN researchers) will be brought to attention of the Management Committee. Carefully selected specialized international conferences on biotechnologies will also be attended.

Progress

• Small office for intellectual property protection and technology transfer (OTT), that includes several invention scouts, serves to all team members and provides help in case of any need related to scientific results likely to be industrially protected.
• Biology centre was represented on international biotechnology fair „Bangalore India Bio“, that was held in February 2014 in India, and on international conference and fair "ImagineNano 2015" that took place in Span in March 2015.  The events were used for intensive networking that might result in the gain of possible future collaborators for joint scientific projects or industrial partners for commercialisation of BCAS inventions.
• BCAS got the license to use the educational course of TTM-J which has been later translated into English. The course was opened for BCAS employees in May 2015.
• The activities in frame of T 9.3 were extended to reach both general public and the business sphere also via internet portal Gate2Biotech that is focussed on advances and innovations in the field of biotechnologies. (crossectional activity with T 7.5)