Encouraging commercial applications at the ANUFrom its inception, The Australian National University has provided an ethos in which the potential social and economic applications of long-term, fundamental research can be explored. Staff are increasingly alert to potential applications of research. University policies are in place to encourage participation in the commercialisation of research or in its use in the public sector. These policies include the 13-day rule - academic staff may provide services, including consultancies, for up to 13 days per quarter, and a generous arrangement regarding distribution of benefits derived from intellectual property. When intellectual property of a staff member is commercialised, the first charge on earnings is the cost of protecting and marketing the intellectual property. The net earnings are then distributed in favour of the inventor, who receives (in 1997 dollars) 75% of the first $40,000, 50% of the next $106,000, and 30% of any additional net earnings. The ANU attracts considerable industry funding on a per capita basis but this has fallen away in recent years as changes in the Taxation Act have prevented tax-exempt bodies from receiving syndicated research and development funds. Changes in the external environment, especially to industry policy and R&D tax concessions, mean the University must be alert to any new opportunities to commercialise research, and ready to respond rapidly to those opportunities. The commercialised ventures described in this feature are a few examples of the ongoing work at the ANU. Professor S. W. Serjeantson | |