HRB Guidelines on Intellectual Property

HRB Guidelines on Intellectual Property

Background

The mission of the HRB is to improve people’s health through research and information. This is supported by its strategic goals of advancing the contribution that health research makes to a sustainable knowledge economy and increasing awareness and understanding of both the impact and the value of health research and information.

Policy

  • The HRB expects those it supports to play their part in disseminating balanced information on scientific advances and their potential implications for society to the health professionals and policy makers who will be involved in applying them, and to the wider public.
  • HRB-funded researchers are expected to maximise the prospects of research being taken into practice through the commercial route by protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) where these arise.
  • The HRB and other Irish funding agencies have agreed guidelines and requirements for use by Irish Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) on the management of intellectual property that is generated by publicly funded research – Ireland’s National IP Protocol 2019. A Framework for Successful Research commercialisation.
  • Grant holders and RPOs should also consult the HRB General Terms and Conditions for Research Awards, which specify the responsibilities of the host institution and of the grant holder when accepting funding from the HRB.
  • Researchers who collaborate with industry should take special care to keep detailed and accurate records of their research.
  • IPR should be considered before data are submitted for publication or presented at meetings.
  • Host institutions are expected to have Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer policies in place and to have procedures for protecting the outputs of research hosted by them.