The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is making a huge investment as an incentive to encourage intellectual property (IP) creators at public research institutions to disclose IP to their institution's office of technology transfer (OTT) at the point of publication.
Top IP creators will be rewarded for their contribution to an innovation agenda intended to address the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment and government outcomes like vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all, or an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network.
The DST's National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) will award grants called Intellectual Property Creators' Incentives to institutions for research and development that resulted in IP with commercial and/or social impact potential. The IP must have been disclosed to the institution's office of technology transfer (OTT) between April 2011 and March 2018, and the institution must meet minimum compliance requirements.
The financial awards granted are to be used by institutions' OTTs to advance the IP disclosures of their top creators to the next stage in the innovation value chain.
NIPMO is responsible for implementing the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, 2008, which intended to ensure that IP emanating from publicly financed research and development is identified, protected, utilised and commercialised for the benefit of South Africans.
The top IP creators at each institution (who made the most actionable disclosures to their OTT during the specified period) will receive a certificate of acknowledgement.
The grants will be presented by the Minister of Science and Technology, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, at the NIPMO IP Creator's Dinner on 28 March 2018.
Media are invited as follows:
Date: Thursday, 28 March 2019
Time: 18:30-22:00
Venue: St Georges Hotel, 58 Goede Hoop Ave, Doornkloof, Pretoria
For media enquiries, please contact Julian Leshilo-Sebake at 060 961 2194 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
