Glasgow Uni to offer free Intellectual Property

[Scottish Business Owner]

University of Glasgow :: University news

Was alerted to this story by Penny Haywood of PHPR. It's actually a really exciting piece of news and is also really encouraging to see an education establishment start to work more closely with business.

So if you've gopt an idea you want to protect it might be worth getting in touch with them as they can actually provide this free of charge

 

[Frugaldom]

Very handy piece of info, many thanks for sharing. Was always under the impression that ideas, as such, couldn't be protected. Must read more about this.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Was always under the impression that ideas, as such, couldn't be protected.

Ideas can't be copyrighted. It's the expression of an idea that can be protected by copyright. You might have a great idea for a novel, but you would actually have to write the novel in order to get any protection.

But I don't think that's the issue with this Glasgow University story. What they are proposing (if I've understood it right) is to make it easier to transfer existing intellectual property (particularly patents) to potential licensees.

Of course, how useful this is will depend entirely on the quality and value of the intellectual property they have to offer.

Mike

 

[Frugaldom]

I think I must have misunderstood or misinterpreted the article. I thought it meant that the already protected intellectual property held by Uni was going to be made freely available to researchers and businesses. I was thinking along the lines of all the research notes that are currently in existence and being able to access these freely as an aid to further research and development of business models and ideas.

With regards to published work, I normally print out multiple copies of anything I want copyrighted, file one, send one to myself by Recorded Delivery and send one to my solicitor by Recorded Delivery. The sealed copies remain sealed as proof of date or origination etc. All other publications become copyright by their publication and copies get sent to the Legal Deposit at the British Library.

As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to distribute any published material (newsletters, newspapers, magazines, books, booklets etc - electronic or hard copy) without depositing a copy to the British Library. We also need to use separate ISSNs for each format of each title. I reckon the university IP refers to research notes, theses and associated works. Have to admit, it's still an interesting concept if they're making all of these free to access.

Apologies if I've gone off at a tanget by completely misunderstanding the article.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Apologies if I've gone off at a tanget by completely misunderstanding the article.

No apology needed. It's more likely that it was me who misunderstood it.

That said, you wrote:

I thought it meant that the already protected intellectual property held by Uni was going to be made freely available to researchers and businesses. I was thinking along the lines of all the research notes that are currently in existence and being able to access these freely as an aid to further research and development of business models and ideas.

That's now how I read it. It's more a case of specific bits of IP, including patented technologies, being made available under llicence as at present, but the process will be simplified, and there will be no charge for the licence. The licensee will still have to enter into an agreement with the university, and the university will decide what IP it wants to license in this way.

Regarding your point about sending a sealed copy of your published work to your solicitor under recorded delivery, etc. I expect you know that this is really not necessary. You already own the copyright in any work that you create, regardless of the above precautions. However, the actions you describe could be useful if you need to defend your copyright in the courts, but it certainly doesn't give you additional rights.

Regarding depositing copies at the British Library, etc. You're right that this is a legal requirement - for books, pamphlets, newspapers, etc. - but it has got nothing to do with copyright. Making such a deposit does nothing to increase your copyright protection, and failing to do so doesn't detract from the protection. In particular, it only applies to certain forms of published work.

I admit this is a confusing area. That's partly because the six libraries to which you are required to make the deposit are sometimes referred to as "copyright libraries". That's probably because they were originally set up by the Copyright Act of 1911. But the present legal requirements for depositing books at the libraries are separate from copyright legislation.

By the way, A. P. Herbert wrote an interesting and amusing exposé of the "copyright libraries" in Wigs At Work - an enlightening book, but not to be taken too seriously.

Mike

 

[Frugaldom]

Oops, it should also have read as 'tangent' and not 'tanget', thinking quicker than I can type most times.

The newspapers were just an example of current legislation we need to incorporate within the world of publishing. We probably have more small print nowadays than ever before and a prime example of that is on the likes of the Moneysavingexpert forums, where their forum is a free for all but they assert copyright on all the posts. They can, and do, include posts in their printed books. But it's still free to read all the original info. I can equate that scenario to the university IP one, in as much as the university will allow you the right to read and possibly even submit your own findings as additional material, or use the info for your own research, but you'll not can replicate it for any financial gain.

Copyright laws are a minefield. We've had two previous cases of infringement when some of our original artwork showed up on CD covers in eBay auctions.

I don't take many things seriously, it's probably why I'm now homebased instead of being a multi-national with offices strewn around the globe. Best shut up now before I drag 's IP thread too far off topic. (Sorry, B )

 

[Mike Lewis]

Copyright laws are a minefield. We've had two previous cases of infringement when some of our original artwork showed up on CD covers in eBay auctions.

The problem isn't that the laws are a minefield. But, rather, that they are so often ignored. That's probably out of ignorance rather than malice, but it's still a problem.

Like you, I've seen my copyright material crop up in various places without my permission. I wish there was some way of preventing it. More often than not, you can't even trace the perpetrator.

Best shut up now before I drag 's IP thread too far off topic.

Yes, me too. Sorry to distract attention from the main point of the thread.

Mike