National Workshop on Managing Intellectual Property
and Successful Technology Licensing

Date: 25th-29th June 2007
Venue: University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius
Organised by: Mauritius Research Council (MRC) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The Mauritius Research Council (MRC), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is organising a Workshop on Managing Intellectual Property (IP) and Successful Technology Licensing. The focus of this workshop will be on developing a better understanding of the economic value of IP and the need to manage it effectively for the promotion of successful technology licensing.

Background

The MRC is the apex organisation for the promotion and coordination of national investment in research. It advises the Government of Mauritius on science, technology, economic and social issues, and funds research in areas of national priority.

The MRC recognises that intellectual property rights (IPR) play a crucial role in protecting and encouraging innovation in all areas of research, and in this context, organised an Awareness Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights in August 2002, with the assistance of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India and the Attorney-General’s Office of Mauritius.

The objectives of this workshop were to sensitise people to IPR issues and provide an opportunity to address specialist areas that are directly relevant to Mauritius. The report of the workshop is available on the MRC website at www.mrc.org.mu/IPR.htm.

In keeping with the recommendations made at the conclusion of the workshop, the MRC has published a booklet entitled ‘Basics of Intellectual Property Rights’, aimed at providing the public with general information on IPR.

In October 2005, the MRC with the collaboration of WIPO, organised a workshop on Patent Searching and Drafting of Patent Claims. The aim was to provide participants with an opportunity to develop effective patent searching techniques and basic skills in the drafting of patent claims. As a follow-up, the MRC has prepared a manual entitled ‘A Guide to Patent Searching’ (see www.mrc.org.mu/Patent.htm).

The purpose of this manual is to consolidate the initial training and provide guidance on searching for patent information, with emphasis on:

• the use of free online patent databases (e.g., esp@cenet available through the European Patent Office website), and
• developing a structured approach to facilitate the location and retrieval of patent information.

National Workshop on Managing IP and Successful Technology Licensing

It is against this background that the MRC in collaboration with WIPO, is organising a five-day National Workshop on Managing IP and Successful Technology Licensing.

The first objective of this workshop will be to sensitise a wide audience on:

• IP management and its role in fostering economic growth,
• the framework and management of IP in universities and public R&D institutions, and
• the value of IPR as a tool for promoting the transfer of innovation from universities/R&D institutions to industry.

The sensitisation will be conducted during the first day of the workshop, and will be aimed at senior academic and research staff from various institutions, senior officers from the Patent Office, the Attorney General's Office and relevant Ministries, organisations involved in the collective administration of rights, representatives of industry and business organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations.

The second objective of the workshop will be to impart the skills and provide hands-on training/exercises to a smaller group of participants, in the area of IP licensing and transfer of technology. This training, which will take place over the following four days, will follow the approach developed by WIPO for ‘Successful Technology Licensing’ and addresses:

• options for the acquisition and transfer of IPR,
• basic principles of technology licensing, and
• conducting negotiations in technology licensing.

The workshop will conclude with a focused discussion on the way forward and proposals regarding further training, networking of researchers, businesses and licensing professionals.

A report of the workshop will be produced including details of the presentations and, with permission from WIPO, resource materials used for the training sessions. This report will be made available to all stakeholders and on the MRC website.

Provisional Programme (pdf version - 29KB)