The University of Barcelona updates its Industrial and Intellectual Property Regulations
Following a proposal by the Governing Council of the University of Barcelona, the Social Council has approved the University’s Industrial and Intellectual Property Regulations. First, the procedure for the dissemination and protection of research results has been endowed with legal certainty. The distribution of profits resulting from the exploitation of results has also been revised, as well as the attribution of ownership. Finally, regulations have also been adapted to the legislation in force. The 2006 text, which had already been partially amended in 2011, has thus been fully updated.
The University of Barcelona’s mission includes “effective management of knowledge transfer.” Within this framework, the UB is carrying out the necessary actions to protect research results with the highest possible degree of legal certainty for both the institution and its researchers, in accordance with current regulations. This action has been supported by the Department of Research and Universities of the Catalan Government.
Updating the regulations
The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation will be responsible for managing the procedure of dissemination and protection of research results. Thus, any UB staff member (Research Staff or Administration and Services Staff) who obtains significant research results must communicate these to the FBG. This must be done within a maximum period of three months, after which the relevant procedures for the legal protection of these results will be initiated, if deemed appropriate. The notification to the FBG will be made through a form available on the website of the Foundation.
With regard to the ownership of research results, UB staff are entitled to claim authorship of any results produced as a result of their activities at the UB. This new regulation sets out the rules for the attribution of ownership of research results and the corresponding intellectual and industrial property rights, both for research carried out by UB staff and for research in collaboration with or commissioned by other entities.
The distribution of profits derived from the commercial exploitation of UB-owned has also been revised
Finally, the new approved regulations are in line with the current legislative framework, such as the 2011 Spanish Law on Science, the Law on Sustainable Economy, and the 2015 Spanish Patent Law.