A new intellectual property system is fundamental to the research commercialisation accelerator but nobody much is buying what the government is suggesting

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering says the proposed 12 templates for industry-research agreements should be “an optional resource rather than a requirement” for new funding arrangements.

“Imposing the agreement creates a risk that industry partners may not wish to engage if the templates do not align with their needs,” the academy warns in a submission on the HE Research Commercialisation Framework.

Nor does ATSE indicate confidence in the HERC IP content, suggesting, “supplementary optional resources to assist collaborators in building partnerships and understanding IP.”

And this is pretty much as close to a positive response as the government is getting.

The Australian Technology Network slammed the IP framework in October, “its prescriptive approach and focus on compliance is antithetical to the flexible, adaptive and responsive approach that our industry partners are seeking,” (CMM October 19).

And the Innovative Research Universities will not talk about it until “there is a fuller stakeholder conversation,” (CMM March 3).

One for the briefing book if there is a new minister after the election.