Intellectual Property

Why is Intellectual Property Important?

Intellectual Property lies at the centre of all basic, strategic and applied research conducted across Colleges and disciplines at the ANU. Put simply, IP is the ANU’s core business: it’s what we produce.

When a third party provides funds for research, they are buying rights in intellectual property. These rights may range from a simple copyright in reports, such as in the case of an ARC Discovery grant; to a license to manufacture technology based on the IP in the case of a commercial agreement; to an outright assignment of IP rights in some consultancy arrangements.

The type of “sale” pursued and ultimately agreed to will be dependent on the type of IP an ANU researcher creates, and the potential value of its application - to the researcher, to the ANU, to potential partners, and to Australian science and innovation.

To come to a suitable arrangement for all parties involved it’s important to know what you as an ANU researcher want to get out of the arrangement. First of all though you, and the staff supporting you, need an understanding on what you and the ANU are putting in. Maintaining a good working knowledge of your intellectual property will go a long way to helping ANU general staff protect your IP and maximise the benefits from it.

Office of Commercialisation staff will be pleased to discuss any IP questions you have and explore with you the best course for protection. However, here is an easy reference guide to the kinds of Intellectual Property you could be creating, and methods for its protection.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property represents, as the name suggests, works or intellectual activities arising from the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields. It can manifest in inventions, scientific discoveries, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, commercial names and designations, trade secrets, research plans and priorities, research results, statistical models and computer programs, market interest and project ideas, and know-how such as concepts, tools, methodologies and techniques known or developed.

Intellectual Property covers such a broad range of activities, it is most often described in terms of the rights afforded to it, and method of protection.

Certain types of IP require registration with a relevant Government agency, for example patents, trademarks and designs. Other IP, such as copyright, do not, even though the rights associated with it are strongly established by legislation and legal precedent. Still other types of IP, for example trade secrets and know-how, can be protected only under the Common Law.

Some of the most common rights follow:

IP Right	Patent
IP Type	New or improved products or processes
Description	A patent is a temporary monopoly (generally 20 years) granted by the government to the originator of an invention. Patents are the most common form of registered IP protection for the ANU. In order for an invention to be patentable it must meet three criteria: novelty; inventiveness or non-obviousness; and usefulness. Every patent is examined against these criteria before being granted and an application that does not meet these criteria will not be granted as a patent.
Process	The process for applying for patent protection is generally a stepwise process involving increasing costs and levels of scrutiny. Refer to the FAQ page for more information.
IP Right	Copyright
IP Type	Original material in literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works, and in other works that include films, broadcasts, multimedia and computer programs
Description	Copyright protects the tangible expression of ideas but not the ideas themselves. For example the actual text of a paper is protected from duplication however the ideas conveyed by the text are not protected by copyright.
Process	There is no formal system of copyright protection and it comes into existence as soon as the work is reduced to a material form. Identification of copyright (and to sue for infringement in some countries) is done through the use of the symbol © followed by the name of the person or organisation that owns the copyright and the date of first publication.
IP Right	Trademark
IP Type	Words, symbols, pictures, sounds, smells or a combination of these
Description	Trademarks are signs or emblems that identify a service or good and its source e.g. the Macdonalds’ golden arches or the Nike swoop. The mark has to be unique and must enable the public to identify that product or service from those of another trader.
Process	A trademark may be registered, in which case it is identified by the symbol ®, or unregistered, in which case it is recognised by the symbol ^TM. Registration of a trademark provides the applicant with exclusive use of that mark, and the right to prevent others from using it, in relation to the goods and services for which it is registered. Registration of trademarks is relatively simple and inexpensive and there is no maximum term for which protection can be obtained. A single application may now be used to obtain protection in around 60 countries, excluding USA.
IP Right	Registered Design
IP Type	Shape, conformation and pattern or ornamentation of a product
Description	A design may be registered to protect the visual appearance of the manufactured product. Registration affords the applicant the right to exclusively use the design for a period of 16 years.
Process	Protection is generally restricted to the country in which the application was lodged; however an international convention allows for submission of one application to afford protection in a number of European countries.
IP Right	Circuit Layout
IP Type	3-dimensional configuration of electronic circuits in integrated circuit products or layout designs
Description	Based on copyright law principles, circuit layout protection gives exclusive right to copy the layout in material form; make integrated circuits from the layout; and commercially exploit in Australia.
Process	Circuit Layout rights are automatically created and do not require registration. The maximum term of protection for this form of rights is 20 years following the creation of an eligible layout.
IP Right	Plant Breeder’s Rights
IP Type	New plant varieties
Description	Plants Breeder’s Rights grant the inventor control over export, import and selling of the plant material. It doesn’t extend to the use of the plant variety for further development of plant breeding.
Process	PBRs are applied for through the Plant Breeder’s Rights Office, which will assess whether the plant variety is distinct, uniform and stable in assessing the application.
IP Right	Trade Secrets
IP Type	Know-how, and other confidential or proprietary information and background knowledge
Description	Secrecy does not prevent anyone else from independently developing and exploiting your IP, however as a strategy may be appropriate if it is difficult to reverse engineer your product.
Process	Trade Secrets can not be protected by registered means and rely on non- disclosure for protection. A standard way of protecting trade secrets is requiring employees and/or business partners sign a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement.

Moral Rights

In addition to IP rights there are also moral rights recognised with respect to a piece of work. Three types of moral rights are recognised as follows:

an author’s right to be identified as the author of a work - known as the right of attribution of authorship;
the right of an author to take action against false attribution - known as the right not to have authorship of a work falsely attributed; and
an author’s right to object to derogatory treatment of his or her work that prejudicially affects his honour or reputation - known as the right of integrity of authorship of a work.

The University will act to protect the moral rights of its staff and students in all its endeavours.

Who Owns Intellectual Property at the ANU?

In a University environment, generating an income stream from Intellectual Property is a background concern to ensuring IP is managed in a responsible way. The Office of Commercialisation recognises that this responsible management includes using IP in a way that:

attracts and awards staff and students;
provides an opportunity for engagement with industry and government;
attracts sponsored research funding; and
promotes economic and social development in the broader community.

The Office of Commercialisation staff will work with you to ensure the IP you develop is managed in line with these principles. The ownership of IP at the ANU helps facilitates this.

Staff – The ANU claims ownership of IP generated by its staff in the course of their employment duties. Exceptions to and explanations of this are in the ANU IP Policy, which forms part of a staff member’s terms of employment.

Students – Students at the ANU own the IP generated by them during their studies. Students should recognise however that discoveries or inventions are rarely made in isolation and therefore it is likely that the University will also have a claim on a particular invention as a result of the ownership of IP generated by the student’s supervisor or others involved in the generation of the IP. In some cases where external funding is involved, it will also be necessary for Students to assign their IP to the ANU for commercial/ confidential reasons. Note that University policy does not allow for external organisations to require alterations to a student’s thesis before submission for examination, other than to request the maintenance of confidentiality of their own IP.

Visitors – Ownership of IP will depend on the contract of engagement of the visitor and the resources going into the work. In general however, detailed procedures concerning IP discovered by visitors at the University or using University resources are to be as for staff, subject to any agreement struck prior to the visit.

See the ANU IP Policy for exceptions to and explanations of the above as well as treatment of Background IP.

Photo courtesy laszlo-photo

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