Do you want your ideas/research findings to be put to use? Then they’re worth protecting!
We will help you come up with a strategy for how your intellectual assets can best be put into use.
As a researcher employed by a Swedish university you benefit from the Teachers exemption (Lärarundantaget) – academic staff’s intellectual property rights, and thus have a unique opportunity to further develop your research results for the benefit of society.
When you start collaborations with other researchers, companies or external actors, it is therefore important to draw up an agreement that clearly states the rights and obligations you and your collaboration partner have towards each other. The agreements can, among other things, regulate when you have the opportunity to publish your research results, and who owns the rights to them.
Our innovation advisors have extensive experience of both academia and industry, and will help you review contracts so they are as accurate and advantageous as possible for you as a researcher
Knowledge assets are the knowledge that is created in the research process and that can be value-creating for other parties. For example, research results in the form of theoretical frameworks, algorithms, instructions, visualizations, software and methods. Sometimes the term Intellectual assets is used in parallel with knowledge assets.
Intellectual properties are information or resources that are not physical objects. Examples are research results, names, designs, software, patterns, music and processes.
If you plan to use your discovery commercially you should definitely protect your Intellectual properties. Patents, brands, design protection and copyright are various ways of protecting your idea, maintaining protection of it and creating competitive advantages over other operators.
You should file a patent if you believe your invention to be of commercial value and want it to be developed into a marketable product. This can be either within your own company or by selling/licensing the patent to an already established company. A patent is a form of protection against commercial actors who want to use your invention. The patent gives you limited-term protection that means no-one else may manufacture, sell or import your invention without your permission. We will help you assess whether your idea is patentable and will guide you through the entire patenting process.
There is no conflict between the patenting of research results and publication of the latter, provided they are protected before publication.
If you want to use your research results commercially, you must be careful in how you present and publish the results. Before you protect them – avoid presenting details of your research in writing or even orally at a conference or similar. The same applies to compilations on posters and roll-ups.
If you want to patent your research, you should not disclose any details about your research results in any context before a patent application is submitted. A publication makes a later possibility of a patent impossible because the result is then no longer considered a novelty. To be a novilty, the research result must not have been known before. Therefore, we recommend arranging the patent handling before publication of the results.
Contact us as early as possible in the research process, and we will help you protect your knowledge.
The granting of a patent for an invention is subject to three criteria being met:
The patenting process is expensive. Before a patent is filed, a novelty search should first be carried out. This means reviewing what patents and patent applications already exist in the area in question.
Through the program Validation for application you can apply for funding for novelty searches. The application takes place in consultation with one of our innovation advisors.
Protecting your trademark is a long-term investment. The parts of trademarks that can be protected are names, logos and words.
To get the trademark registered, what you want to protect must be unique and not be used by anyone else.
Registration of a design protects the unique form you have given your product. The protection is valid for 25 years and prevents others from using the same appearance for their products.
Registration of the design can be a way of emphasising the uniqueness of your products when you market them.
Copyright protects artistic creation such as music, film, literature and computer programs. Copyright cannot be applied for – it arises when the work comes into being (assuming it is sufficiently original).
How can we help you? Contact us via the contact form – or get in touch with one of our advisors directly.
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