University of Glasgow to offer free IP

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The University of Glasgow is to offer intellectual property (IP) for free to UK businesses and entrepreneurs.

In a first for a UK body, the university said the move will cause a paradigm shift in the way academic research bodies and commercial organisations operate with one another.

The service will run through a website called Easy Access IP where companies who can make the best use of the university’s patents will be able to access them immediately.

University of Glasgow principal Anton Muscatelli said the educational institution hopes to move as much IP into commercial use as it can as it seeks to highlight the quality of its research.

The university also wants to “help UK companies maximise their competitive edge internationally,” he added.

Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, praised the move, suggesting it will make it easier for businesses to take advantage of new technologies.

“Technology licensing in the UK can sometimes be a laborious process which can inhibit the sharing of IP between universities and businesses,” Gray said.

“The move will help build better and lasting relationships between research and enterprise which will have long-term leading to benefits for everyone involved.”

As an example of what kinds of innovations companies may be able to take advantage of thanks to Easy Access IP, physicists at the University of Glasgow have combined high-speed cameras with laser beam technology to allow researchers to measure movement on a sub-atomic scale.

Earlier this month, the Government confirmed it would review the current IP laws in the UK.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted to make legislation "fit for the internet age."

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