Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
438. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the level of engagement that his Department has had to date with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to the protection of intellectual property rights within the research and development and innovation sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38794/22]
View answer439. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on whether intellectual property rights should be protected especially in the development of innovative medicinal products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38795/22]
View answer440. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the level of interaction that he has had with industry representatives about trade-related intellectual property rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38796/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 438 to 440, inclusive, together.
My Department works closely with other government departments including the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This is reflected in the governance structures established under Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment develops intellectual property policy, prepares legislation and provides an intellectual property regime which reflects the international law environment and best practice.
A competitive IP protection regime supports the creation of proprietary knowledge and simultaneously encourages its exploitation by rewarding the knowledge creators. A fit-for-purpose IP regime acts therefore as an important driver of innovation, leading to economic and employment growth.
Optimising the transfer of knowledge from our public research system to enterprise has been central to our strategy for science and innovation for many years. We have built up capacity within the public research system to engage with industry on issues relating to intellectual property, and we have assisted industry – and SMEs in particular – to absorb research outputs and to engage with the academic research community.
A well-functioning intellectual property framework is key to providing companies that are researching and developing new medicinal products with the certainty that if a medicine makes it to the market, it can be protected, for a specific period time, from being copied or used by another party without the permission of the rightsholder.
The national IP Protocol, published by Knowledge Transfer Ireland, sets out the Government’s policies to encourage industry to benefit from publicly-funded research and describes the practical arrangements for this to happen. It serves to encourage innovation from Irish research and the commercialisation of all forms of intellectual property arising from the publicly-funded research sector.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are one of the principal means through which companies, creators and inventors generate returns on their investment in research, innovation and creativity. IPRs are a crucial incentive for the development of new and innovative medicinal products, enabling the research and development necessary for the creation of many of today’s medicines and provide the incentive to encourage companies to continue to invest in the development of new treatments, medicinal products, and vaccines.
As Intellectual Property rights fall under the responsibility of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, my Department and I have regular engagement with our colleagues there on a wide range of issues, including intellectual property rights when necessary.
