A. Learn about RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND ENTERPRISE (RIE)

Research, innovation, and enterprise (RIE) are cornerstones of Singapore's national strategy to develop a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy and society. A vibrant and robust Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) ecosystem enables successful translation of research outcomes into products, processes, and services, leading to economic and societal benefits for Singapore. This fosters competitiveness and capitalises on new growth areas.

Scaling up the I&E ecosystem is one of the strategic focus areas to drive technology translation and enhance the innovation capabilities of enterprises. This expedites the process of transforming R&D into market-ready products and solutions. The ecosystem serves as a collaborative platform, bringing together key stakeholders from the R&D community, enterprises, government agencies, and regulators. It facilitates the cross-pollination of ideas, knowledge, expertise, and technology, catalysing value creation.

View RIE Plan for more information

B. Learn about National Intellectual Property Protocol (NIPP)

The National Intellectual Property Protocol establishes the fundamental principles and guidelines for the utilization and translation of publicly-funded research and development (R&D) outcomes into new products, processes, services, and business models. By adhering to these principles, companies can harness the benefits of publicly-funded R&D and contribute to Singapore's economic, commercial, and societal progress. As a university receiving public funding for our R&D activities, we are committed to complying with the NIP principles.

View National intellectual property Protocol for more information.

C. Learn about Intellectual Property (IP)

Countries recognise the importance of innovation in driving economic prosperity, and universities play a crucial role in shaping the innovation landscape. Many ground-breaking innovations have originated from universities globally, such as DeepMind Technologies, Google, NVIDIA, Akamai Technologies, Carbon, Inc, Moderna Therapeutics, and more. SMU, over the years, has been developing strong deep-tech research capabilities and incrementally making its mark in society and industry.

Intellectual property protection enables the research and innovation community to unleash their creativity without the fear of losing the uniqueness and innovativeness of their work. It grants legal rights to individuals or organizations for their inventions, creations, or unique ideas, fostering innovation, creativity, and opportunities for creators to benefit monetarily.

Understanding intellectual property ownership is crucial, particularly for those involved in research, innovation, or creative endeavours. In a university setting like SMU, intellectual property can stem from the work of faculty, researchers/innovators, staff, and even students. Intellectual property protection allows both inventors/researchers and universities to mitigate infringement risks, utilise the technology for societal impact, enhance the work of other research/technologies/businesses, and generate economic returns in an organised and secure manner for all parties involved.

Intellectual property generated from work can be broadly classified into two categories: registrable and non-registrable.

Registrable intellectual properties include patents, designs, trademarks, etc., which are examined for their novelty or uniqueness and further prosecuted to ensure no other contesting parties have a claim over the invention before the claim date and time in the relevant geography.

Patents: Typically used to protect discoveries, inventions, or innovations with unique functional or utilizable attributes. Patent protection is usually granted for a period of 20 years in a specific country. Protecting a patent at the national and global level involves a significant amount of time (12-30 months), effort, and cost. In SMU, the KTC generally recommends a provisional filing in Singapore first, as it is more cost-effective and recognises inventiveness in countries like the USA for up to 12 months from the provisional filing date. The final decision on the countries where the patent protection is required must be made during this period.

Trademarks: Used to protect distinctive signs, such as logos, names, or slogans, that identify and distinguish goods or services. Trademarks are beneficial for branding and creating customer demand or loyalty. There are no statutory limitations on the lifespan of trademarks, and the registration cost is relatively inexpensive.

Non-registrable intellectual properties include copyright, trade secrets, know-how, data, software, etc. These rights come into force automatically from their inception if the source and secrecy are well protected. Non-disclosure agreements and license agreements become primary means of protecting these assets.

Copyright: Used to protect artistic, literary, and musical works, audio and visual recordings, software, courseware, etc. Copyright safeguards the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. While automatic copyright protection exists upon creating the work, registering with relevant authorities can provide additional legal benefits when contesting an infringement case.

Trade secret: Used to protect valuable and confidential business information that provides a competitive or strategic advantage. Examples include customer lists, chemical formulas or recipes, manufacturing processes, business plans, inventions, etc. Even employees with privileged access to such information must be bound by strict non-disclosure agreements.

For more general information about intellectual property and its types, you can refer to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The KTC team at SMU offers tailor-made courses to help innovators and researchers in SMU learn more about intellectual property and its benefits. Feel free to reach out to the KTC team for further assistance.

D. Licensing intellectual property from SMU

We have simplified the process for industry, start-ups, and spin-off companies to engage with us in licensing our technology. Here are the steps involved:

Step 1: Understand the purpose for licensing the technology and the business plan around it. This will help us determine how the technology would be effectively utilised.

Step 2: Engage in Term Sheet negotiations with our KTC team. The Term Sheet outlines the key terms and conditions of the licensing agreement, including rights, obligations, and financial considerations.

Step 3: Once the Term Sheet negotiations are completed, proceed to finalise the license agreement with SMU. This agreement will grant you the necessary rights to use the technology for your intended purposes.

Step 4: As per the terms agreed upon in the license agreement, provide periodic performance reports. These reports will help us track the progress and success of the licensed technology in your application.

Please note that the licensing process may vary depending on factors such as the company, the specific intellectual property involved, and the nature of the commercialization opportunity. If you are interested in licensing intellectual property from SMU, please reach out to our KTC team for further information and assistance.

For SMU internal users, additional information can be found through (Intranet Portal).

E. Starting a company with my IP

Business Innovations Generator (BIG) is the flagship incubation programme available to all in SMU through IIE. It is an equity-free, coaching-heavy programme enriched with the opportunity to receive nurturing from an entrepreneur-in-residence and other community members , including mentors, industry experts, and VCs. 

Recipients of MOE Decentralised Gap Fund from IIE (Commercialisation Grant) with the intention to create a spin-off company will be required to join BIG to receive help in succeeding in their entrepreneurship journey. 

Faculty researchers interested in knowing more about the start-up journey before embarking on a spin-off journey with their intellectual property could be allowed to attend master classes and other valuable sharing sessions exclusively available for the start-ups incubating under BIG. 

Start-ups joining BIG with external intellectual property and interested in engaging SMU faculty researchers for further R&D, please reach out to your account manager to facilitate a discussion with the KTC Team.

SMU students who have generated intellectual property as part of their independent work and wish to secure intellectual property before joining BIG could consider consulting their mentor faculty or potential faculty collaborator for this project to explore support in protecting the intellectual property through the university and availing other commercialisation grants to scale the project.  

Please reach out to the KTC team for further help. 

F. IP models in industry-university collaboration

When industry and university research collaborate, a detailed engagement agreement will be established to ensure smooth functioning for both parties. Several important intellectual property-related aspects need to be covered in the agreement.

Firstly, the agreement should properly record the details of the background intellectual property brought in by each party. If the foreground intellectual property depends on the background intellectual property to function, a commercial license must be obtained from the background license owner(s) to use it.

To determine ownership and rights over the foreground intellectual property for each party, the following details must be established:

• Inventive contributions in terms of money, in-kind, and technology deliverables by each party.
• Inventive weightage for the technology deliverables. This is important to decide which party will have a higher weightage of ownership and rights in the foreground IP.

There are different licensing models that the parties can consider when entering into a research collaboration agreement:

• University Ownership Model: It is agreed upfront that the university will maintain 100% ownership and rights over the foreground intellectual property. The industry would then obtain a license to use it based on a prevailing license agreement signed with the university. The cost of securing a patent or other forms of protection and maintaining it will be borne solely by the university.
• Joint Ownership Model: Both parties will have ownership and rights over the foreground intellectual property based on the agreed inventive weightage. The cost of securing a patent or other forms of protection and maintaining it will be shared by the parties accordingly.
• Industry Ownership Model: It is agreed upfront that the industry will maintain 100% ownership and rights over the foreground intellectual property. The university would then need to obtain a license to use it for commercial purposes based on a prevailing license agreement signed with the industry. The cost of securing a patent or other forms of protection and maintaining it will be borne solely by the industry.

In a university collaboration project utilising government funding, the intellectual property will be available for the university and other government agencies in Singapore to use for conducting further research and non-commercial purposes.

For further guidance and advice in this matter, please consult the KTC team.