Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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250. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 112, 114 to 116, inclusive, and 118 of 9 March 2017, if there is a legal obligation on employees of third level institutions to declare an interest in a spin-out company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16206/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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All HEIs are requested yearly as part of their governance statements to state that a code of conduct for Governing Body members and a Code of Conduct for Employees has been adopted and is being monitored.Guidelines for these codes are included in the IOT and University Codes of Governance (section 3.2).

The University Code of Governance has been implemented since 2007 and was updated in 2012.  A copy of the code is available here:

www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/university_code_of_governance_2012.pdf.

The Institutes of Technology Code of Governance published in 2012 replaces an earlier document published in 2003:  A copy of the code is available here:

www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/code_of_goverance_jan_2012final_updated_0.pdf.

For example the IoT Code of Governance states:

Code of Conduct for Members and Employees

2.2.1 It is strongly recommended that all Institutes of Technology have written codes of conduct for members of the Governing Body and employees.  The codes should be developed via a participative approach and should be approved by the Governing Body taking into account the implications of all the relevant provisions of the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006 as well as the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and Standards in Public Office Act 2001.  Suggested guidelines for such a code are contained in Part 3.2of this document.  The Code, a copy of which should be made available to all members of Governing Body and Employees for their retention, should embrace such matters as duty to the Institute, principles for addressing conflict of interest, limits on outside activities, acceptance of gifts and honesty in dealings.  The up-to-date codes of conduct should also be available upon request with a copy of each such code being accessible through the Institute’s website.

In the financial memorandum signed by both the HEA and HEIs it is a mandatory requirement that they comply with the codes of governance for IoTs and universities, while their annual governance statement also confirms that the approved Code of Governance has been put in place and implemented, and that a Code of Conduct for Employees has been implemented and monitored. This Code of Conduct must cover conflicts of interest and limits on outside activities.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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251. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the names of the third level institutions that have a specific spin-out policy in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16207/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Knowledge Transfer Ireland, the organisation that oversees the implementation of the National IP Protocol, has confirmed that the following third level institutions have a specific stand-alone spin-out policy document in place.

HEIs with specific spin-out policy:

- University College Cork

- University College Dublin

- University of Limerick

- Maynooth University

- Athlone Institute of Technology

- Cork Institute of Technology

- Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology

- National College of Art and Design

- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

A further 14 have policy relating to spin-out companies embedded in their IP policy document.  HEIs with spin-out policy within their IP Policy document:

- Dublin City University

- Dublin Institute of Technology

- Dundalk Institute of Technology

- Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology

- Institute of Technology Blanchardstown

- Institute of Technology Carlow

- Institute of Technology Sligo

- Institute of Technology Tallaght

- Limerick Institute of Technology

- National College of Ireland

- NUI Galway

- Trinity College Dublin

- Waterford Institute of Technology

Policies in respect of spin-out companies describe the purpose for commercialisation as a route of application to achieve economic and social benefit through innovation. Policies cover the ownership of IP, management of IP, IP related transactions by the HEI, shareholding and revenue share.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the name of the body tasked with the oversight of the national intellectual property protocol; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16208/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), established by Enterprise Ireland in partnership with the Irish Universities Association, is the custodian of the national IP Protocol.

As previously indicated, a national IP Protocol “Putting public research to work in Ireland” was developed by a task group comprised of leaders from industry, the investment community and TTOs in 2012.    The new protocol built on earlier guidelines and codes of practice, using the lessons learned from their use.

In 2013 the Government established a centralised function with responsibility for technology transfer in the State which led to the creation of Knowledge Transfer Ireland, launched in May 2014. Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) now has responsibility for setting direction for research performing organisations (RPOs) best practice to enable compliance with IP policy and procedures.

The publication of the national IP protocol in 2012, and its subsequent refresh in 2016, sought to establish policy and guidelines on the interactions between industry and Ireland’s Higher Education Institutes, including the treatment of intellectual property.  It provides guidelines and sets expectations for the RPOs and for industry.

The national IP Protocol 2016 comprises two volumes:

- the National IP Protocol policy document which sets out the framework underpinning research collaboration and access to intellectual property from state-funded research

- the IP Protocol Resource Guide which provides an overview of the national IP management guidelines and links to resources and template documents, available for industry and RPOs.  It also provides an overview of the knowledge transfer structures in Ireland and the kinds of agreements that can be used to formalise research-industry engagements.

The protocol explains the National IP Management Requirements and requires that RPOs have in place and operate internal IP management systems that meet or exceed these.  The protocol also includes “good practice” that will normally be followed.  However, industry and RPOs are free to adopt a different approach where this is in the best interests of successful relationships and research commercialisation.   Practices are also highlighted that may be followed if industry / RPOs choose to do so.

The national IP Protocol explains that commercialisation may benefit HEIs and provide incentives to the researchers involved in creating IP. IP may include protectable IP and know-how. Furthermore, the national IP management requirements make provision for HEIs to have in place a system for sharing of income from commercialising within the organisation, including with relevant researchers.

A suite of Model Agreements, available for use if HEIs and companies choose, covering a range of IP licensing scenarios is available on the KTI website.