Review of Western Australian Government Intellectual Property feedback

We want your feedback on guidance measures to help determine the ownership of IP by Western Australian Government agencies.

Use the online feedback form above to tell us what you think about the proposals.

Proposals

1. The updated WA Government IP Policy will:

• Provide a clear statement on IP ownership.
• Reflect general principles of IP ownership based in case law.
• Provide guiding principles and factors to help determine whether ownership is appropriate. 

2. Guiding principles and factors to determine IP ownership may include:

• Clarifying whether ongoing ownership of IP is appropriate or maximises benefits to the state.
• Addressing IP ownership rights clearly in employment agreements.
• Assessing the strategic value of the IP.
• Considering ongoing costs of IP protection.

3. An updated policy and supporting toolkit will provide guidance in how to clarify IP ownership in procurement and employee contracts.

4. WA Government agencies will be encouraged to clearly address IP ownership and rights in agreements and commercial arrangements.

We are seeking feedback on best practice approaches to commercialisation of IP for WA Government agencies.

Use the online feedback form above to tell us what you think about the proposals.

Proposals

1. Develop an updated WA Government IP Policy that facilitates commercialisation of WA Government IP where appropriate and financially viable. This will include:

• A commercialisation process modelled on best practice approaches taken from other jurisdictions and sectors.
• Specific guidance identifying different commercialisation pathways for agencies to consider, depending on the type of IP.
• Assessment tools for determining whether to commercialise IP.
• Access to appropriate IP and commercialisation advisory services and expertise.

As part of the review, we are considering the approaches of other jurisdictions and sectors in designing a best practice commercialisation process.

You can provide feedback on a potential commercialisation model outlined in this fact sheet.

These sections of the Discussion Paper are about sharing benefits to encourage innovation and reward valuable employee contributions.

Use the online feedback form above to tell us what you think about the proposals.

Proposals

1. Providing clear and fair arrangements for the sharing of benefits to relevant parties, including through employee reward payments, may encourage and facilitate innovative outcomes across the WA public sector.

2. Choosing models for:

1. sharing benefits between all relevant parties where IP is successfully commercialised.
2. rewarding employees who have made a direct and significant contribution to IP creation or development.

Please see the benefit sharing and rewards models we are considering.

Please note the models presented are for stakeholder feedback and should be treated as examples only. The framework will be finalised after considering best practice and legislation for benefit sharing and reward arrangements.  

We are seeking feedback on proposals to support WA Government agencies to develop and manage IP.

Use the online feedback form above to tell us what you think about the proposals.

Proposals

1. Establish an online IP training and resource hub.

This would include a web-based ‘best practice toolkit’ to support government agencies in developing, protecting and managing IP.

2. Establish an IP Community of Practice to build knowledge and experience across the WA public sector. Members would be drawn from government agencies involved in research, innovation, invention and the development of IP.

3. Provide greater access to IP expertise by:

• establishing a panel of IP specialists, including patent and trademark attorneys and commercialisation experts, to advise government agencies
• exploring options to establish a centralised IP and commercialisation management office.