Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/116750
Radiotherapy Issue SOLUTIONS How might the IP and/or other rights be protected/have been protected? n The relevant parties could seek to file patent applications in respect of the potentially patentable inventions. n Tom could register any design right in the equipment. n Tom could help protect the copyright in his dissertation by inserting a copyright notice (e.g. © Thomas Doyle 2013. All rights reserved) indicating that he owns the copyright in the work and that it cannot be used without his permission. Are there any pitfalls which could cause problems when looking to protect/exploit any IP and/or other rights? n Ideally, all of the work done by the academic in question should have been carried out at Lakeland so that Lakeland would own the IP. As Prof. Kent has done some of the work at the Trust, it may be that some of the relevant IP will be owned by Lakeland and some by the Trust. n Where academic institutions and NHS Trusts have people working for both of them an agreement relating to IP should be in place. Then there is Tom. Lakeland should have asked him to agree to assign his IP to it before the work started. n When Lakeland comes to commercialise, it will need to seek permissions from various individuals and organisations before it can do so. It would be much cleaner and easier for all the relevant IP to be owned by one entity. Lakeland should have planned for this in advance, as should the academics. What steps, if any, should Tom and Lakeland take to protect the information contained in Tom's thesis? n When Tom's dissertation comes to be examined, any external examiners should be asked to sign confidentiality agreements before they examine the dissertation. Internal examiners should be under confidentiality obligations by virtue of their contracts of employment, but double check this if you are not sure. It is always better to have too much rather than too little protection in place! n The dissertation should also be placed on restricted access in the Lakeland library, for example, for 5 years from the date it is placed there. 46