Innovation UBC can support the non-commercial distribution of research outputs to reflect the increasing focus on open innovation and collaboration.
We support the free sharing of research outputs through data and material repositories or open source where these channels provide the greatest opportunities for research tools, data, discoveries and code to have a meaningful impact and to develop research communities working towards shared goals.
Open Source
In recent years the emergence of open-source software has had a profound effect on the availability and development of many widely adopted technologies and is a key part of the momentum shift towards open innovation.
Our team can provide advice as to which open-source license might be appropriate for your dissemination goals. Furthermore, we can provide guidance as to the implications of including third party open-source software in your research projects.
Click-Wrap Licensing
Certain research outputs such as software and research tools are well-suited to dissemination to a large group of people at a modest or no cost.
Simplifying access to these outputs in order to increase their distribution is a key aim at Innovation UBC. Providing very simple, non-negotiable and non-exclusive licensing terms is an effective tool, particularly when this can be achieved through simple online click-wrap licensing.
Mechanisms such as Flintbox, a technology that originated at Innovation UBC and is now used globally by researchers and industry, facilitate this type of transaction, and our team will increasingly identify and utilize such mechanisms to make UBC research outputs more accessible and help spur further research and innovation.
Patent Pools and IP Aggregation
Mechanisms such as patent pools and IP aggregation can provide easier access to UBC technologies whose impact is realized in combination with complementary technologies.
Combining discoveries to allow access to a broader range of complementary intellectual property can simplify access for licensees; can overcome potential freedom to operate issues and blocking patents; and allows UBC technologies with a narrow patent space to contribute to broader innovation activities.
Our team will engage with appropriate patent pools to which it can contribute technologies, particularly where these pools may promote global access, such as WIPO Re:Search
