The Intellectual Property Authority seeks to enhance cooperation to link the outputs of scientific research and industry
Within the framework of continuous efforts to strengthen the innovation system and support Egyptian industry, the roles of the parties concerned with scientific research,intellectual property, and the industrial sector are integrated to develop more effective paths that link the outputs of scientific research with market and production needs, thus opening the way for transforming ideas and innovations into practical applications and economic and societal value.
These efforts are underway to establish a supportive environment for researchers and innovators, and enhance their ability to protect, develop and benefit from their innovations in a way that serves the goals of sustainable development and enhances the competitiveness of Egyptian industry.
Efforts in this path are directed towards building a more interconnected system that ensures the access of knowledge and innovation from the stages of research and development to application and investment, while enhancing awareness of intellectual property rights and providing the necessary support to researchers in the various stages of innovation. Linking research capabilities to the needs of productive sectors also contributes to directing research outputs towards feasible solutions and applications, which supports the development of Egyptian industry and maximizes the economic and societal impact of knowledge and innovation.
Strengthening cooperation between the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology
In this context, the Egyptian Authority for Intellectual Property and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology held the first coordination meeting between the two sides, to discuss ways of joint cooperation and strengthen the link between scientific research and industry needs.
Prof. Dr. Hisham Azmy, President of the Egyptian Authority for Intellectual Property, stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the Authority and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, in a way that supports the link between the outputs of scientific research and the needs of industry, and contributes to maximizing the benefit from innovations and research and transforming them into applications and economic and societal value. He pointed out that this cooperation comes within the framework of the state’s efforts to strengthen the innovation system and support researchers and innovators in protecting and investing in their intellectual outputs, in line with the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Strategy.
He also stressed the importance of establishing practical mechanisms for cooperation between the Intellectual Property Authority and the Academy of Scientific Research, which allows benefiting from the expertise and capabilities available on both sides, and supporting researchers in the various stages of innovation, starting with identifying appropriate intellectual property rights to protect their innovations, all the way to investing and transferring them to the beneficiaries, thus enhancing the opportunities for transforming ideas and research into products and solutions that meet the needs of society and industry.
This approach is consistent with the seventeenth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is concerned with establishing partnerships to achieve the goals, as the integration of the roles of the parties concerned with scientific research, intellectual property, and industry allows for building more effective paths for the transfer of knowledge from research and development to application and investment.
Preparing the environment for researchers to benefit from their research
For his part, Dr. Mamdouh Moawad, Acting President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, explained the importance of enhancing integration between the scientific research and intellectual property systems, and working to create the appropriate environment for researchers to benefit from the outcomes of their research and innovations, and linking them to the needs of the industrial and production sectors, in a way that enhances the opportunities for their application, development and benefit from them.
The meeting also addressed the most prominent challenges facing researchers in protecting and investing in their innovations and linking them to industry, while emphasizing the importance of raising awareness of intellectual property rights and encouraging researchers to use them to protect the outputs of scientific research, thus opening the way for marketing innovations, transferring technology, and maximizing their benefit socially, economically, and environmentally.
Professor Nermin El-Meligy, Acting Head of the Central Administration for Intellectual Property Services and Development at the Egyptian Authority for Intellectual Property, explained the agency’s role in achieving the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, related to activating the economic returns of intellectual property in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), related to decent work and economic growth, by enhancing the benefit from intellectual property rights and supporting the transformation of knowledge and innovation into sustainable economic value.
Capacity building in the field of intellectual property
With regard to the human element and capacity building, the role of the Center of Excellence for Intellectual Property is evident in providing awareness programs and capacity building in the field of intellectual property, especially for researchers and workers in innovation and technology support offices, in a way that enhances their ability to deal with issues of protecting and investing scientific research outputs.
The center is preparing specialized training programs for workers in these offices, enabling them to provide support and guidance to researchers in the fields of intellectual property protection, technology transfer, and benefiting from scientific research outcomes, noting that building workers’ capabilities represents one of the important axes for strengthening the innovation support system and linking it to industry needs.
This meeting comes to emphasize the importance of integration between scientific research, intellectual property and industry, which contributes to transforming knowledge, innovations and scientific research outputs into economic and societal value, supporting the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, and enhancing the role of innovation in achieving sustainable development and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
This is directly related to the ninth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is concerned with industry, innovation and infrastructure, by supporting research and development, promoting innovation, and creating conditions that allow the transformation of knowledge into applications and solutions that support the development of industry and raise its ability to compete.
In conclusion, the importance of this path goes beyond simply protecting innovations or making use of research results, but rather relates to rebuilding the complete circle in which knowledge is transferred from the laboratory and research centers to production lines and markets. As researchers become more aware of their rights, research institutions become more capable of managing their intellectual assets, and industry has clear mechanisms for accessing applicable solutions and innovations, intellectual property will transform from a legal framework for protecting knowledge into an effective tool for directing it toward use and investment, and maximizing the social, economic, and environmental value it can generate.
Based on its societal role,The Earth Guards Foundation highlights the efforts aimed at building the capabilities of researchers and workers in innovation and technology support offices, as an investment in the link that links the idea with its protection, protection with its development, and development with its investment, in a way that enhances the ability of Egyptian industry to benefit from national knowledge and transform it into a value that supports its competitiveness and path. Towards sustainable development and Egypt’s vision 2030.
