Technology Transfer in Austria

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General Principles of Technology Transfer at Austrian Universities

PATENT ACT 1970

In Austria relevant IP matters are covered by the “Patents Act 1970”, latest revision of 2005, including the relationship between an employer and an employee. Employee means salary and wage earners of every kind. According to § 7 (1) an employer has the right to obtain ownership for an invention if it is a service invention and if a written agreement (with the employee or a collective agreement) exists. For inventions of public employees no separate written agreement is needed. The state has the right to obtain ownership. (§ 7 (2)) § 8 states that the employee shall be entitled to a reasonable special compensation for assigning to the employer an invention made by him.

UNIVERSITIES ACT 2002 (UG2002)

According to § 106 Universities Act inventions made at an university in the course of federal employment or training or employment or training by such university, shall be subject to the Patents Act, and the university shall be deemed to be the employer under section § 7 (2) Patents Act. That means that University can claim rights for service inventions without the need for a separate written agreement between university and university member.

Objectives of UG2002

The mission of the Austrian universities is to serve academic research and teaching, and the advancement, appreciation and teaching of the arts, and thereby to contribute to the personal development of the individual, and to the welfare of society and the environment. Universities are public educational institutions which, in their research and research based teaching, are directed towards the advancement of knowledge and new approaches to the arts. Through the common efforts of teachers and students, working in enlightened scholarly communities, they assist individuals in their striving for the education and autonomy conferred by scholarship. They promote the advancement of junior academics, which goes hand in hand with the acquisition of academic and artistic abilities and qualifications, and methodological skills, with the goal of helping a society in transition to master the challenges it faces in a humane and gender equal fashion. To enable them to respond to the constantly changing demands made on them in organisational, academic and personnel management terms, the universities and their governing bodies shall constitute themselves under conditions of the greatest possible autonomy and self-administration.

Principles of UG2002

The guiding principles to be observed by the universities in pursuance of their objects are:

1. freedom of scholarship and teaching (art. 17 Basic Law on the General Rights of Citizens, Imperial Law Gazette [RGBl.] No. 142/1867) and freedom of scholarship and art, the dissemination of the arts and their teaching (art. 17a, Basic Law on the General Rights of Citizens);

2. interaction between research and tuition, the advancement, appreciation and teaching of the arts, and scholarship and art;

3. diversity of academic and art theory, methods and doctrines;

4. freedom of study;

5. attention to the requirements for entry to professional careers;

6. student codetermination, particularly in respect of studies, teaching quality assurance and the application of university fees;

7. national and international mobility for students, graduates, and university academic and art staff;

8. collaborative relationships between members of the university;

9. equality of the sexes;

10. equality of opportunity;

11. special attention to the needs of the handicapped;

12. efficient, economical and expedient management of the universities’ finances.

Commercial exploitation of intellectual property

§106(1) All university members shall have the right to independent publication of academic papers and works of art. When research findings or work serving the advancement and appreciation of the arts are published, university members who have contributed to such work shall be named as co-authors.

§106(2) Inventions in the meaning of section 7(3) Patents Act, BGBl. No. 259/1970, made at a university in the course of federal employment or training or employment or training by such university, shall be subject to the Patents Act, and the university shall be deemed to be the employer under section 7(2) Patents Act.

§106(3) All inventions shall be promptly reported to the rectorate. The rectorate shall inform the inventor within three months if it intends to claim title to the invention in its entirety or rights to the use thereof. Otherwise the inventor shall be entitled to such rights.

Offices of Technology Transfer from Public Research Institutions

The main technology transfer office of Austria is held by Austria Wirtschaftservice Gesellschaft mbH (“aws”) with its department Tecma. aws is owned by the Republic of Austria. Being Austria’s specialised bank for business promotion, aws handles a multitude of promotional programs developed by the federal government. Tecma is in charge of patent exploitation and supports and accompanies researchers, inventors and companies in marketing promising innovations.

Within the project uni:invent Tecma assisted the Austrian University to install local departments. Their responsibility is to help academic inventors and to support technology transfer.

Most universities (see list below) in Austria took part in the uni:invent programs I and II, funded by the government from 2004-2006(uni:inventI) and from 2006-2009 (uni:invent II).

Uni:invent –universities (in alphabetical order)

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz Johannes Kepler Universität Linz Medizinische Universität Graz Medizinische Universität Wien Technische Universität Graz Montanuniversität Leoben Medizinische Universität Innsbruck (CAST) Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Universität Wien Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien Technische Universität Wien

All the above listed universities have patent scouts or patent advisers who encourage and support scientists in writing invention reports, organize the filing of patents, try to find partners for the exploitation of the intellectual property,… . The activities of the universities have been supported by the aws- the Austrian wirtschaftsservice. The aws was responsible for the uni:invent program, i.e. all universities had contracts with the aws. Beside the main frame work contract between each University and the aws there existed also project related exploitation contracts, which organized the joint efforts of the university and the aws how to “sell” a new technology. The aws received invention reports from the participating universities, i.e. the scouts of the universities were writing the invention reports together with the inventors and sending all information to the aws. Within 6 weeks the aws had to provide a recommendation, whether the invention should be taken by the university or not. If the recommendation was positive, the costs for filing the patent were funded – up to a limit, which depended on the size and performance of the university. The uni:invent program was a very good trigger for technology transfer activities. Now since 2010 the universities do not receive funding, but still have the chance to get recommendations for invention reports.

Besides these patent scouts or patent advisers directly working at the universities there exist several other institution working in the area of technology transfer like for example the AplusB centres.

In addition to uni:invent and AplusB centres some universities have founded additional institutions for the improvement of effective technology transfer.

For example the University of Innsbruck has founded a transfer center in 2002 with the aim of connecting science and economy in order to develop and establish joint research projects and to optimize exploitation of research results in order to strengthen the technology location Tirol. This transfer centre is a limited company called transidee.

transidee is a bidirectional bridge from science to business and the other way round, i.e. innovative technologies developed at the university can be brought into the market by finding the best partner in economy, or people from economy are seeking for scientific support to solve problems. In both cases the transidee is the point of contact to find the partners. But transidee is not only connecting people and partners it is also developing and managing the projects, organizing funding where necessary and supports the business partners in the progress of the market launch.

Other universities have founded “Ausseninstitute” many years ago (before uni:invent), which combine the actions of technology transfer, spin off support, collaboration with industry…. For example the Montanuniversität Leoben has such an [www.ausseninstitut-leoben.at Ausseninstitut] or the technical university of Vienna The government supports technology transfer also with special funding programs like the translational programs from the FWF or the bridge program from the FFG for stand alone projects or by special initiatives like Christian Doppler Labore or Laura Bassi Centren where academia and economy are working together for 4-7 years on one topic.

Technology Transfer Surveys or Papers

National Research and Innovation Plan

On December 13, 2002 the Austrian Council has presented its National Research and Innovation Plan (NRIP) to the public. It adresses the political decision makers on national and regional level, the institutions performing research, the RTD-funding organisations and all other relevant representatives of the national innovation system.

Transfer of Knowladge and Technology in Austria(2003)

A study of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology highlightens the current status quo of knowledge and technology transfer in Austria.