Australian Government Seeks Comment on DIY IP Agreements

The Advisory Council on Intellectual Property has released a discussion paper in relation to a proposed Intellectual Property (IP) Toolkit for collaborations between publicly funded research organisations and the private sector. sausagemachineA copy of the discussion paper may be found here.

The discussion paper proposes to provide an IP Toolkit for collaboration which includes:

  • a model term sheet (information on the terms and conditions of the business agreement involving collaboration and IP);
  • a small set of model agreements;
  • links to the existing “National Principles of Intellectual Property Management for Publicly Funded Research”;
  • other relevant resources.

It is envisaged that the toolkit will be made available and hosted on IP Australia’s website.

Whether or not you think boilerplate agreements and ‘a one size fits all’ approach to managing collaboration relating to Intellectual Property is a good thing or bad thing – you have until 23 May 2014 to make your views known.

If you would like further information or advice in relation to IP agreements, please contact us.

BCSE(Hons) MIP FIPTA

Mark’s academic background is in computer science and electrical engineering. He assists clients in obtaining and enforcing their intellectual property rights in the areas of software, electronics and engineering. Prior to joining Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick, Mark worked for a leading automotive manufacturer.