Government scientists may soon profit from the fruits of their labor when a bill now before the Senate is enacted into a law that permits them to earn from any commercial spin-offs of their research and even to form companies that will sell the technologies they have developed.
Scientists and researchers in government institutions will be allowed to retain up to 40 percent of revenues. Government agencies will not own the research or technology if they fund less than half of the research and development (R&D).In cases of joint funding, ownership will be shared equally by the scientists and the government agency.
These are some of the features of the “Technology Transfer Act of 2008” filed by Senator Edgardo J. Angara and endorsed by the Departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Agriculture (DA), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Health (DOH), Trade and Industry (DTI), Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Intellectual Property Philippines.
The bill is aimed to encourage innovation, promote scientific and technical knowledge and enhance economic competitiveness.
At the same time, it aims to protect the intellectual property rights that rightly belong to R&D-related government institutions and the scientists and researchers who undertake them.Granting R&D institutions the rights to intellectual property generated with public funds can lead to better use of research results that might otherwise remain unused, adding it creates start-up companies from the academe that generates more employment for the public.For R&D institutions, the benefits may include increased licensing and royalty revenues, more contract research and greater partnership between private industry and business-minded scientists and researchers.
The weakest link in the country’s innovation system is the process of transferring and commercializing the results of R&D particularly those undertaken by government-funded R&D institutions.
The bill as filed by Sen. Angara has been substituted by Senate Bill 3416 which is now pending second reading. While Sen.Lacson and Sen.Estrada are wasting our money bickering and digging up each other's skeletons in the closet good legislation such as this remain unattended.
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1 comment:
Question. so the rule that the invention belongs to the employer if it results from the employees duties does not apply anymore?
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