Business Workshop: Making research consortiums work
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Joining a research consortium can benefit large and small companies, especially in areas in which a business believes it is at a competitive disadvantage.
A research consortium is a cooperative arrangement among groups or institutions to conduct research into a particular science or technology that is of interest to all the parties. The biggest in most research consortiums are governments and research universities, but smaller companies can participate, too.
Three key issues face all businesses or other organizations when considering participation in a research consortium:
1. Control. It only makes sense that government often dominates decision-making in a research consortium, since governments serve as major funding sources for most consortiums. But if a company does not have an adequate share in the decision-making, it will not be able to ensure that it can benefit from the results of the research.
2. Intellectual property. Many consortiums have strategies and procedures for utilizing traditional forms of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks and copyrights. Unfortunately, most consortiums have yet to appreciate the importance of trade secrets, which can work against the best interests of an individual business.
3. Incentives for innovation. A business will want to make sure that every partner will be able to use any viable technology that a joint research project discovers or refines. In addition, governments and public funders need to provide meaningful financial incentives for individual researchers in consortiums, even when these individuals are working on projects funded with government grants.
How well consortiums deal with these issues will likely determine whether the company will be able to exploit the new technologies for a profit. Without control, protection of its intellectual property and incentives for innovation, the consortium will likely not benefit a business.
-- Dennis Unkovic
Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, du@muslaw.com
First Published February 6, 2012 12:00 am
