The thought-provoking article on university intellectual property policies (“‘Huge amounts of confusion’ over IP rights”, News, 16 April) resonates with a research project currently being undertaken by NUS Services, commissioned by the Intellectual Property Awareness Network, into the perception and practice of university IP policies. It follows research that NUS Services undertook three years ago on behalf of IPAN and the Intellectual Property Office into student attitudes to intellectual property.
This was the first research of its kind, we believe, that asked students directly what they felt about the role that IP might play in their future careers and the support that they received in terms of IP education while on campus. The findings were sufficiently significant to underpin the IPO’s decision to fund the development of a self-managed online resource for student IP education, which was launched last month.
Our current research will ask students and academic staff about their perceptions of the practice of the IP policy at their institution.
Ruth Soetendorp
Chair
Intellectual Property Awareness Network
