Easy Access IP adopted by two other UK universities

Published: 30 June 2011

King’s College London and the University of Bristol adopt Glasgow's Easy Access IP model.

King’s College London and the University of Bristol have become the latest UK universities to offer their intellectual property free of charge to businesses under the revolutionary Easy Access Innovation Partnership initiative.

Easy Access IP, developed by the University of Glasgow and launched in November last year, aims to increase engagement between universities and industry by making it simpler and faster to create partnerships for the benefit of the economy and society.

The Universities of Glasgow and Bristol and King’s College London are currently the only UK universities to have adopted the pioneering approach.

Professor Steve Beaumont, Vice-Principal for Research & Enterprise at the University of Glasgow, said: “We are delighted that King’s College London and the University of Bristol have adopted the Easy Access approach to their Intellectual Property. We look forward to working closely with them on this exciting project which will raise awareness of the vital role universities have in stimulating innovation.”

Dr Malcolm Skingle, Director, Academic Liaison at GlaxoSmithKline praised the consortium’s efforts to explore new ways of sharing university IP. He said: “We welcome new mechanisms that open up the opportunities for engagement between industry and academia, and transfer new technology into the marketplace quicker.

“While sharing IP through traditional methods and licensing will still be appropriate in some instances, this new approach presents another way for universities to drive the development of new technology.”

While the universities will continue to offer commercial opportunities through traditional licensing methods, their Easy Access portfolios feature certain technologies that will benefit from early exploration and development by a commercial partner.

Dr Alison Campbell OBE, Director of Innovation at King’s, said: “Some university IP can be too early-stage for a company to risk investment and could present an uncertain market, which can sometimes hinder industry take-up of IP. By offering easy access to this IP, companies can evaluate it quickly and explore its potential
with reduced risk. This also means that we’re disseminating more of our knowledge for public benefit – a key part of our College mission.”

Dr Neil Bradshaw, Director of Enterprise at the University of Bristol, said: “As early adopters of the Easy Access IP model we have a real opportunity for companies to move our innovations into the marketplace more quickly and easily than before.  This is a significant advance for our Universities and one where we are leading the world.”


For more information contact Ross Barker in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 3535 or email ross.barker@glasgow .ac.uk

Notes to editors
In March 2011, King’s and the Universities of Glasgow and Bristol received an £80,000 award from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to fund a collaborative project to create a consortium of open-innovation universities and collectively promote free IP opportunities to industry.

First published: 30 June 2011

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