The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have announced the creation of the IP Awareness Assessment, a free tool that lets users evaluate their intellectual property (IP) knowledge and then chart a customized training regimen.
In an era when every competitive research or development proposal is expected to convey a potentially transformative idea, it's more important than ever to anticipate and protect potential discoveries. Researchers at teaching-intensive, predominantly-undergraduate institutions bear the exactly the same onus as research powerhouses to safeguard the products of their - and their institutions' - innovations. GRC and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) have undertaken a partnership to distill the aspects of IP protection and technology transfer that are critical at the pre-proposal, pre-award stage of grantseeking.
Meanwhile, patent reform, transparency legislation, and the drive for more multi-sector collaboration have created a world that essentially levels the field for innovation funding. Patent attorneys, students, basement inventors, and scientists are all facing the need to learn and re-learn what it means to be a responsible innovator. Federal government tools such as the IP Awareness Assessment and programs such as the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps were developed to guide participants through the business end of intellectual discovery.
David Kappos, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property, believes greater awareness "will help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality and bring them to market faster, thereby creating jobs more quickly, too." GRC members agree.
In an era when every competitive research or development proposal is expected to convey a potentially transformative idea, it's more important than ever to anticipate and protect potential discoveries. Researchers at teaching-intensive, predominantly-undergraduate institutions bear the exactly the same onus as research powerhouses to safeguard the products of their - and their institutions' - innovations. GRC and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) have undertaken a partnership to distill the aspects of IP protection and technology transfer that are critical at the pre-proposal, pre-award stage of grantseeking.
Meanwhile, patent reform, transparency legislation, and the drive for more multi-sector collaboration have created a world that essentially levels the field for innovation funding. Patent attorneys, students, basement inventors, and scientists are all facing the need to learn and re-learn what it means to be a responsible innovator. Federal government tools such as the IP Awareness Assessment and programs such as the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps
David Kappos, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property, believes greater awareness "will help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality and bring them to market faster, thereby creating jobs more quickly, too." GRC members agree.