The Government has announced a new intellectual property protocol which they say will make it easier to bring the fruits of research to market.
The streamlining is part of the the Government's action plan for jobs and hopes to further capitalise on the €800m spent on research and development projects each year.
A central technology transfer office is to be set up, to act as a one-stop shop for businesses.
This office, say the Government will allow for easier collaboration between business and research and ease the path to market.
In 2003 Ireland was ranked 36th in the world for quality of scientific research output; in 2010 we were 20th. In 2000 our total spend on publicly-funded R&D was €290m; in 2010 it was €872 million.
Today's announcement follows the approval of legislation to extend the remit of Science Foundation Ireland to include applied research, and the implementation of Research Prioritisation to ensure that publicly-funded research is aimed at areas with the greatest potential for commercialisation and job-creation.
Making the announcement today at NovaUCD, the UCD Innovation and Technology Transfer Office, Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said: “A key part of the Government’s plan for jobs and growth is ensuring that we create more products, services and ultimately jobs from Ireland’s top quality scientific research system. The quality of our R&D is already a major part of the reason for the success of our multinational and indigenous companies - but we must do more."
Full details of the new protocol are available on the Department's website.
