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About
MIHR
PIPRA
Fiocruz, Brazil
bioDevelopments- Institute
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WOLSON, Rosemary
Rosemary Wolson is Intellectual Property Manager at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa. She has a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Microbiology and an LL.B., both from the University of Cape Town. In her previous position as Intellectual Property Manager at the University of Cape Town (UCT), she participated in establishing UCT Innovation, the division responsible for UCT’s technology transfer and research contract management functions. Her experience as an early technology transfer practitioner in a developing country sparked her interest in broader policy issues related to the roles of innovation and intellectual property rights in promoting development; she takes on selected applied-research projects in these areas from time to time. She is also involved in various capacity-building and information-sharing initiatives in South Africa, other countries in Africa, and other parts of the world. She is a member of the International Advisory Committee of Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA) and sits on the Executive Board of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), a regional network of stakeholders.
Abstract
Technology Transfer in South African Public Research Institutions
Abstract:
This chapter provides an analytical overview of technology transfer in South Africa. Technology transfer offices (TTOs) are relatively new in the country, and not all South African universities have explicit IP policies. The chapter discusses and analyzes the current performance of TTOs. Among other things, the results show that the income accruing to universities from technology transfer activities is not substantial, that there is a time lag before a TTO can generate sufficient income to become self-supporting, and that the performance of TTOs at different institutions varies widely. A history of public policy efforts to strengthen technology transfer in South Africa is provided, and the government’s 2006 publication of the Framework for Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research receives considerable analysis. Other measures being undertaken to support technology transfer are also discussed, as are the problems that such efforts still face.
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