Reviewed 10 September 2009

UK and China talks on joint R&D to tackle climate change

The development and production of new low carbon technologies is important in the global effort to tackle climate change. Key to this effort is the management of the intellectual property emerging from joint work.

Talks in Beijing on Tuesday hosted by UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China discussed the creation of a business and university friendly framework that will benefit both the UK and China.

Although working together and sharing knowledge is an important way of promoting innovation, the management of intellectual property can sometimes be a barrier to this joint work.

An agreement is therefore needed to help decide where IP rights should lie in joint work between UK and Chinese businesses and research organisations.

Tuesday’s meeting is seen as a first step towards agreeing this process. At the workshop participants discussed:

  • The benefits of establishing a framework for managing IP in UK-China joint research and development;
  • The differences between domestic agreements and cross-border agreements, particularly with respect to different legal frameworks;
  • Why establishing a framework for IP management will be particularly important for R&D projects on low carbon innovations.

Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, Richard Lambert who pioneered the development of model agreements in the UK gave the keynote speech at the workshop. He said:

"Some of the best ideas for tackling climate change and other major challenges facing the world today are going to come out of collaborative work between business and universities. Having model IP agreements and guidance available can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the collaboration process. It has worked well in the UK -- now the next step is to share that experience internationally, and what better place to start than with China."

Peter Holland, International Director, IPO said:

"Evidence suggests that managing and reaching agreement in IP ownership and access is difficult in all industry sectors. This means that collaborative projects can take a long time to set up or simply never happen. The provision of a framework for IP management looks to encourage and support more collaboration. It could also dramatically reduce the transaction costs involved in establishing such agreements and we hope this increases technology diffusion".

Lu Guoliang, Director General, International Cooperation Department, said:

"It’s very important to provide a platform for industry and the academic sector from both China and UK to discuss and exchange views on collaborative research and development. Especially against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, how to establish and improve an effective system to promote IP creation and transfer, is a very important issue"

Tuesday’s meeting follows the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in May 2009. Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and UK Chancellor Alistair Darling agreed that the two countries should discuss how to create an international framework for model agreements for use in collaborative R&D projects.

This is to promote further co-operation on innovation and technology projects and address technology transfer obstacles.

The UK is a key market for China and the UK is China’s largest EU investor. In 2008 China/UK trade was worth over £25 billion. To be successful, it is vital that companies and universities understand the importance of protecting and exploiting their ideas in a key high growth market such as China.

The workshop will be followed up with further working level activities to lay down the framework for IP management.

Notes to editors

  • The Intellectual Property Office is within the Department for Business. Innovation, and Skills and responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
  • Richard Lambert also conducted a review of University-Business collaboration in the UK. He chairs a working group which established a framework for managing IP in UK collaborations.
  • Intellectual Property plays a central role in translating innovation and creativity into economic growth and social benefit.
  • To maximise innovation potential, it is more important than ever to ensure Chinese and UK businesses and research organisations are aware of how to protect and exploit their ideas.

For enquiries about the Intellectual Property Office press or media activities please contact James Thomson on +44 (0) 20 7034 2847

Date of release: 10 September 2009