Learning to share

The CSIR is a publicly-funded research organisation in a similar mould.It recently established an R&D outcomes office to ensure that `appropriate` research outputs are transferred for market application and use. The R&D efforts of the CSIR are not aimed only at commercialisation, but can also be in the national interest where social impact is achieved.

The CSIR has also launched an annual research and innovation conference, where R&D that has not been published before will be presented, and the inventors of CSIR patents lauded.

"Researchers also disseminate their research findings at local and international conferences," says Dr Sibongile Pefile, who heads up the R&D outcomes office. "The organisation publishes information through a broad spectrum of media, including its website and publications, participation in exhibitions, and interaction with the media."

CAPITALISING ON INVESTMENT

The law that governs the CSIR - The Scientific Research Council Act of 1988 (as amended) - decrees that all patents developed by CSIR employees are registered in the name of the CSIR, with the CSIR employees named as the inventors. However, it follows a set of guidelines with regard to technology transfer for both economic and social applications that are informed by its mandate, the requirements of its new host department, Science and Technology, and partly by documents such as the Royal Society`s new statement of principles on intellectual property, as contained in the Adelphi Charter.

The key thought behind the Adelphi Charter, key principles of which are listed in the sidebar alongside, is that while the purpose of intellectual property law should be to ensure both the sharing of knowledge and the rewarding of innovation, "the expansion in the law`s breadth, scope and term over the last 30 years has resulted in an intellectual property regime which is radically out of line with modern technological, economic and social trends. This threatens the chain of creativity and innovation on which we and future generations depend."

The CSIR spends 71% of its R750 million budget on R&D, and this share is expected to rise to 75% soon. It calculates return on investment by ascribing financial value to a variety of R&D outputs, such as publications, degrees conferred, contract research income earned, and royalty income.

To capitalise on this investment, it adheres to a set of principles, of its own accord, that are similar to aspects of the Adelphi Charter of the Royal Society of Arts, the organisation told iWeek.

Though there is an apparent conflict between patent protection and the CSIR`s public mandate, Pefile says this is not hard to resolve. "When patents are registered," she says, "it gives the CSIR the freedom to use its intellectual property to pursue its public mandate. The protection of intellectual property is not in opposition to a public mandate. The registration of patents is part of an organisation`s role to act responsibly in order to be able to use intellectual property for the benefit of our country."

An example of this is the AmaDrum patent, which deals with the provision of safe drinking water in rural areas. This CSIR patent has enabled rural women in the Eastern Cape to assemble and distribute the equipment and thus generate income. Without the freedom to operate, granted as a result of the CSIR patent, the women would not have access to the technology for income generating activities.

The organisation interacts in many different ways with commercial organisations, and there is no single set of rules for how such arrangements are made.

"When companies partially fund research and development in conjunction with the CSIR," Pefile says, "the rights of such companies are negotiated on a case-by-case basis between the CSIR and the parties concerned."

An example is a project undertaken by the CSIR for Herley Industries, under which the American company will acquire Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology from the CSIR. Herley will use this technology to manufacture DRFMs in the US and internationally. Explains Pefile: "The contract research undertaken by the CSIR for Herley Industries is one of the ways the CSIR obtains revenue to develop a sound knowledge base and expertise in groundbreaking R&D areas. This is consistent with the CSIR`s mandate."

The CSIR in some instances uses open source licensing to grant access to projects such as the Meraka Institute`s GNApp project, which is designed to assist individuals with speech disabilities to use technology for better communication. In addition, the CSIR says it makes technology available to South African companies through its R&D outcomes office or its investments and ventures office, free of charge.