Patents
A patent is an exclusive right to make, use, sell or commercially exploit an invention in a particular country. A patent is valid for 20 years, during which it can be used for knowledge protection as well as an exploitation tool.
Patent - protection of knowledge
Academic institutions have a public responsibility of education and advancing science and disseminate it into society. A requirement for a patent is publication, so society can benefit from a new technology. Read more on Knowledge Protection.
Patent - exploitation
A patent is a valuable tool in the commercialization process of an invention for the University or LUMC. An invention can be licensed and thus generating income by means of license fees or royalties for both the academic institution and scientist. Assignation is also an option but discouraged. The owner of the invention, i.e. the University or LUMC, gives up all its rights on the invention and has little or no control over its future use by the buyer.
Another way of exploiting a patent is to form a new company based upon the patented technology. In due course that company expands and grows, making it an interesting investment opportunity for larger companies.
The exploitation strategies mentioned above benefits both University/LUMC and scientist. The ownership and responsibilities for patent maintenance rest with the University/LUMC, while the both the academic institutions and the scientist receive recognition as well as the – financial – rewards.
For more information on patents and the process of application, please consult the website of the European Patent Office. The European Patent Office grants a bundle of national patents at once, usually in the European countries and associated countries. It is also possible to focus on a number of countries that are commercially important, such as the United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and more recently China and India.
Contact
For individual queries please contact our Business Development Team.