ATTACHMENTS: - Edith Cowan Universityintranet.ecu.edu.au/.../word_doc/0011/626591/ECU...IP-… · Web viewSuch discussions are considered a healthy and necessary part of the overall

ECU Research Commercialisation

Commercial Potential and IP Protection Form

Name of Commercialisation Opportunity:

Date: Author: Originating School / Institute:

PurposeThe purpose of this form is to facilitate assessment of the opportunity by duly authorised representatives of the Office of Research and Innovation, the Finance and Business Services Centre, the Office of Legal Services and the Risk and Assurance Service Centre. The assessment will consider:

i) commercial potential, including:

a. substantiation of a customer value proposition

b. provisional calculation of the addressable target market

c. a provisional execution plan for commercialisation

d. benefits to ECU, the community and the nation.

ii) potential for IP protection and/or sustainable competitive advantage.

Instructions Information provided by ECU Researchers in the Self-Assessment and Invention Disclosure Forms will be considered as part of the assessment process; therefore these forms must be attached.

In completing this form, researchers should use their best efforts to obtain relevant information to the commercialisation of their innovation. This should include making use of freely available resources and information, which may include but is not limited to internet and free database searching, confidential discussions with peers, potential customers and end-users, investors and channel partners (i.e. manufacturers, distributors, retailers, etc.) and feedback from other trusted advisers. In doing so, researchers should be mindful of their obligations with regards to disclosure of ECU IP and confidential information and the risks associated with disclosures outside the confines of a confidentiality agreement. For more information and advice in this regard please contact the Finance and Business Services Centre (FBSC).

Opportunities that meet the selection criteria will obtain support and advance to the next stage of the research commercialisation process. The next stage involves the application for government and/or other funding to undertake subsequent commercialisation activities. Without the support of the assessors mentioned above,

ECU Research Commercialisation – Commercial Potential and IP Protection Form (January 2016) Page 1


ECU will not provide further resources and/or funding for commercialisation. Patent applications and other forms of intellectual property protection cannot be filed on ECU IP without the support of the School, ORI, FBSC and OLS. Please note, the submission of this form does not constitute the filing of a patent application, hence the conditions on disclosure remain in place until the Researcher is advised otherwise.

All decisions with regards to the commercialisation of research outcomes, including entering and moving through the ECU commercialisation process, are at ECU’s discretion. Not all commercialisation opportunities are expected to be successful. The key to minimising wastage and achieving the maximum benefit from limited resources is to identify why an opportunity is unlikely to be successful as early as possible. This form is designed to facilitate this process through the assessment of the underlying elements involved in the development of a commercialisation strategy (to be further refined in subsequent stages of the ECU research commercialisation process) and by stimulating discussion between ECU researchers and other ECU personnel where there is doubt to the commercial viability of that strategy. Such discussions are considered a healthy and necessary part of the overall commercialisation process.

The key stages in the ECU Research Commercialisation Process are:1. Self-Assessment (completed)2. Invention Disclosure and School Support (completed)3. Commercial Potential and IP Protection4. External Assessment and Co-Funding Support5. IP Protection, Strategy Development and Planning6. Strategy Implementation and Secure Returns 7. Measurement, Monitoring and Management of Returns8. Exit and/or Project Closure

Submitting the FormFor further information or advice on completing this form please contact FBSC. When complete with attachments and all acknowledgements, please submit by email as follows.

Caroline Smith Manager, FBSCEmail: [email protected]: 08 6304 2180


mailto:[email protected]


Project Information

Project Title

Please provide a working title of 10 words or less that describes the opportunity, discovery, invention or proposed product or service without revealing details that would diminish the novelty of the innovation.

Project Title:

Contact Person

Please provide below the details of the primary contact person for ECU on all matters associated with this Innovation. Ideally, the contact person is the Lead Innovator/Inventor. For reasons of administrative efficiency, it is the responsibility of the Lead Innovator to keep all other ECU innovators/inventors named on this Invention Disclosure informed of the status of such matters.

Title and Name of Contact Person:

Business Address:

Business telephone and fax numbers:

Email Address:



Section 1: Commercial Potential

Detailed Description of the Proposed Product/Service/ProcessCommercialisation is a process of generating financial returns from intellectual property. Intellectual property may take many forms including products and services to be marketed to a customer or a process or technology to be licensed and adopted by a customer. To start the assessment process ECU first needs to understand the nature and form of the IP, how it functions and its applications.

Describe in detail the product/service/process to be commercialised. Be as detailed as possible. Include any figures, images or diagrams that will assist in conveying the concept. This response should tie in with the description of the innovation / research breakthrough previously provided.

In your description address the following questions (you may wish to use them as headings): How will the discovery be embodied (i.e. product, service, process, technology; form,

function and design)? Include or attach diagrams or images where available.

What does it do (i.e. what application(s) does it have) and how does it achieve its function(s)?

Are there any other potential applications?

Customer Value Proposition / Market DemandIrrespective of the nature of the IP, commercialisation seeks a customer that sees value in the IP as a means to address a problem, need or want. Many commercialisation efforts have failed because the inventor felt that offering a set of features and benefits superior to other offerings would be sufficient to win customers and market share. The customer must perceive the product, process or service as superior to other offerings and alternatives in its ability to satisfy their purchase decision criteria. Perception is the key word here because customers rarely have perfect knowledge of the market, competing offerings or your product, process or service. Understanding what the customer’s specific decision criteria are and how they perceive value is crucial to successful commercialisation. Statistically, commercialisation of IP that is made without a customer in mind is less likely to be successful than that where the IP addresses a clearly identifiable problem, need or want. Wants are more difficult to characterise and quantify than problems and needs. For this reason, ECU focuses its efforts on innovations arising from research directed towards solving commercially oriented problems. The customer for the proposed product, service or process should already be known, as should the problem the innovation addresses. The extent to which you can define the customer, the problem, the value they are likely to perceive; and why they would perceive your offering as superior to others and your ability to substantiate your responses is the basis on which the assessment will be made.

Who is likely to be the end customer for the product/service?

Explain the customer problem you have solved and/or what market demand your product, process or service satisfies.

Why would they choose your offering over other alternatives to solving the customer problem, i.e. key competitive advantages?

What are the top three primary motivators for why the customer would want to buy the product, process or service? Explain relative to value they perceive.

Describe any existing third party interest (e.g. customers, channel partners, investors, etc.), when it was received and the current status of that relationship.



If it is possible to monetise the innovation / intellectual property prior to the final development of a product/service and achieving sales (e.g. early licence or partnering deal), please describe the intended transacting party, the nature of the transaction and reason(s) why you believe they will transact on the basis of the IP.

Acknowledgement of Customer Value Proposition / Market Demand

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, a sufficiently strong and distinct value proposition to an identifiable customer exists or can be developed on the basis of the innovation/IP:

Acknowledged by Lead Inventor / Author

Market OpportunityFor commercialisation to be successful it must generate sufficient returns to cover the costs incurred with sufficient profitability to justify the risk and time required to achieve those returns. In order to make an assessment of the likelihood of whether an innovation has sufficient potential to do so requires the qualification and quantification of the market into which the product, process or service will be sold. Given the resources available and the early stage of the opportunity it is sufficient to take a top down approach. There are two basic ways to do so; i) customers multiplied by the anticipated price they are likely to pay, and ii) the value of all revenue generated by all current offerings addressing the same customer problem. ECU does not expect Researchers to incur expense in sourcing such information but a surprising amount can be found freely by searching the internet. Identifying the number of customers relies on being able to define a market segment. Market segments are populations of customer that respond to marketing messages in a similar way. Rarely will a given product satisfy all customer types in a market. A target market is one directed at an identifiable market segment. Price should be commensurate with the perceived value the innovation delivers to the customer, which ties in with the previous section. Revenue from existing products is a useful indicator of market potential but still requires the unit price for a full assessment to be made. The extent to which you can address the following questions and substantiate your responses is the basis on which the assessment will be made.

Where figures are freely available, how many customers (previously described in the Value Proposition section) exist worldwide?

What would these customers be prepared to pay for the proposed product/service (i.e. price)? How does this compare with the price of competing offerings?

Calculate the value of your target market by multiplying the price for your proposed product or service by the number of customers worldwide.

Where figures are freely available, what is the annual revenue generated by currently available products/services that address the same customer problem?

To your knowledge, is this market growing or shrinking?

Acknowledgement of Market Opportunity

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, a significant and addressable market opportunity relative to the innovation, IP and/or the product, process or service to be commercialised:




Stage of Development / Market-ReadinessThe Invention Disclosure Form requested information in regards to the technical veracity of the innovation and the process for achieving a market ready product, service or process. Further information and detail is now required in order to fully assess the suitability and readiness of the innovation for commercialisation and the impact on commercial viability.

Please describe the current stage of development for the product/service/process that will embody the innovation. Do so by making reference to the extent to which the technical and commercial milestones have been overcome and the product/service is ready to be sold to customers, including your efforts to industrialise and reduce it to practice (e.g. concept, bench-top demonstrator, working prototype, beta software, field tested, customer trials, production prototype, production validation, market ready product, initial sales, etc.). Please make specific reference to any testing, trialling and statistically significant data that supports technical veracity, particular that involving independent verification and/or potential customers.

Based on your response above, what are the distinct stages of research and development that are required from this point to achieve a marketable product? How long will each of the stages in this process take and ultimately when do you anticipate a market ready product could be available?

What is the cost of completing each of these stages? Please summarise how you calculated these costs and provide substantiation of the accuracy.

Who (individuals/companies) do you envisage undertaking the work described above?

If you believe a market ready product/service has been developed, please justify.

Acknowledgement of Stage of Development / Market-Readiness

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, the innovation and IP has been developed to a sufficient stage and is ready for commercialisation efforts to commence:


Execution PlanThis section deals with the overall strategy and plan for how the IP will be commercialised and how this will result in profitable returns on the investment required for the execution of that plan. The plan should deal with the overall goals and steps to achieve those goals. Rarely are products and services brought to market by creating a completely new marketplace. More often, commercialisation efforts must align with the existing structure and functions within an existing market. Products, processes or services should be delivered in a way that is compatible with customers’ purchase processes. It is much easier and less expensive to fit with existing customer behaviours than to attempt to change them in respect to an individual unproven product, process or service. A conventional purchase decision process consists of the stages of problem identification, evaluation of alternatives, trial, purchase and adoption. Marketing should consider each of these stages to ensure that products have the best chance of being fully adopted and achieve repeat sales and ideally referral to additional customers. Technologies and processes almost always fit within a greater system or infrastructure. No commercialisation pathway is without challenges and identifiable barriers.

Explain how you will get your product, process or services to market, attract customers, get them to adopt the product/service, and build a viable business.



What are your overall objectives?

What are your tactics to achieve those objectives?

What are the key challenges you may face?

What is the value chain for this market, i.e. how are products/services brought to market and what entities transact in this process?

Example 1: manufacturers sell to distributors who sell to wholesalers who sell to retailers who sell to the customer.

Example 2: Large integrated companies source their components from smaller specialist manufacturers, manufacture / assemble then sell direct to consumers or via distributors.

Do not feel limited by these examples.

What is the industry structure and level of competition?

Example 1: one dominant market leader and a number of much smaller players.

Example 2: a few companies that each holds a large portion of the market.

Example 3: numerous companies each with a small share.

Do not feel limited by these examples.

Has a risk assessment and risk management plan been prepared in consultation with RASC?



Acknowledgement of Execution Plan

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, a viable and achievable strategy and plan has been, or can be, devised which has a strong likelihood of generating sufficient commercial returns to justify the required level of investment:


Funding Request and Use of Funds

It is anticipated that funding will be required to support the development of your opportunity and it is important to understand how much is required and for what activities it will be used for. External funding for commercialisation activities may be available through government funding programs, Angel/private or corporate investment, etc. so these sources should be considered wherever possible.

How much funding do you believe will be required to support your opportunity initially and on an ongoing basis? Please provide a breakdown of this funding on an annual basis, if applicable.

Are you aware of any external sources of funding that are available and are they sufficient to meet your requirements?

Do you require funding from ECU and, if so, how much? Please remember that ECU is generally not a lead investor but it may co-invest with other parties (e.g. private investors, industry and government agencies) to facilitate commercialisation.

How will this funding be used (i.e. how will the funding be spent, e.g. prototypes, contractors, salaries, etc.?

What are the intended outcomes and how will they aid in advancing the Execution Plan set out in the relevant section above?

Acknowledgement of Funding Request and Use of Funds

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, ORI funds required to meet any matching funding requirements for any grants awarded in relation to commercialisation will not exceed $30,000*

And;

Where alternative external sources of funding are not available or could not be secured the following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, the opportunity possesses sufficient merit for ECU to provide funding to support the development of a commercialisation plan. Notwithstanding the above, funds provided by ORI in this regard should not exceed $50,000*:


* Amounts stated are current at time of publication and are subject to change at ECU’s discretion.



Benefits to ECU and the NationThe Invention Disclosure Form requested information in regards to the benefits likely to accrue to ECU and the Nation from commercialisation. Further information and detail is now required in order to fully assess the potential for these benefits to be realised, including how they will be realised and how progress in this regard might be measured.

Please explain how you see the commercialisation of the IP benefiting ECU with regards to teaching, learning and research.

Please explain how you believe the commercialisation of the IP will assist ECU achieve its Purpose, Vision and Strategic Priorities.

Please describe the benefits to Australia and/or Australia’s participation and competitiveness in the global economy you believe will come about as a result of commercialising the IP.

Please explain how you believe the above benefits will be achieved.

Please describe how the above benefits could be measured.

Acknowledgement of ECU and National Benefits

The following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, the Execution Plan proposed above has a strong likelihood of generating significant benefits to ECU relative to its Purpose, Visions and Strategic Priorities, to the community and to Australia and its international competitiveness:




Section 2: IP Protection

Detailed DescriptionIntellectual property (IP) is a critical input to commercialisation. IP can be the only tradable asset or legally enforceable right available on which to base agreements in relation to commercialisation. Furthermore, innovative and/or inventive IP creates the potential to develop and offer a superior and ideally unique value proposition addressing a commercially relevant customer problem. Hence, ECU focuses its efforts on commercialisation opportunities with protectable IP and/or sustainable competitive advantage. As such, ECU needs to understand the level of innovation, whether there are any patentable inventions, designs that can be registered or other ways to create legally enforceable or otherwise sustaining sources of competitive advantage. The creation of IP and the development of strategies to leverage that IP to commercial advantage is a crucial area in which ECU Researchers can add value and increase the likelihood of successful commercialisation outcomes.

Describe in detail below the invention/discovery that underpins the opportunity you propose. Attach any additional or supporting information, background documentation or drawings.

In your description address the following questions: What does the innovation do? Describe the innovation, how it works and what is achieved

as the outcome.

Further to above, please identify and briefly describe the forms of intellectual property comprising the innovation/product/service and/or those you envisage being used in the course of commercialisation:

o Patentable Invention(s):o Software:o Design:o Trade mark(s):o Know-how / trade secret:o Copyright (written, image, photograph, circuit layout, etc):o Plant Breeders Rights:

Please describe your aims / intentions in relation to the protection of the IP that you have identified, in the relevant section(s) below.

Patentable Inventions

Patenting

A patent is a right that is granted for any device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive, and useful. A patent is legally enforceable and gives the owner, exclusive rights to commercially exploit the invention for the life of the patent. Before applying, ECU needs to determine if a patent is appropriate relative to the product/service to be commercialised. Patents can be used to protect traditional inventions such as mechanical devices, computer-related inventions, business methods, biological inventions, micro-organisms and other biological materials. Patents cannot be obtained for human beings or the biological process for their generation, artistic creations, mathematical models, plans, schemes or other purely mental processes. Further information can be found on the IP Australia website (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/patents/).

Please explain why you believe your innovation represents or comprises a patentable invention.


http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/patents/


If your invention is novel (see below), inventive (see below), not been publicly disclosed or used to derive commercial benefit and has commercial potential, then a patent may be an appropriate means of protection. Patents can be used to create legally enforceable rights that can be applied to:

o stop others from manufacturing, using and/or selling the invention without permission; ando licence someone else to manufacture the invention on agreed terms or take legal action against

people who are using the invention without permission.

Please explain why you believe patenting may be an appropriate means of protecting the intellectual property.

Novelty / Prior Art / Competing Patents

Have you made any disclosures of the invention / innovation to persons not employed by ECU without first putting in place a confidentiality agreement? If so, please state to whom, when and what was disclosed.

Have you made any sales or derived other commercial benefit from the invention / innovation? If so, please describe in detail the nature of the sales and/or benefit received.

Please provide details of any research carried out to establish the novelty of your invention (e.g. literature reviews, patent database searches and/or internet searches).

Inventiveness / Non-Obviousness How is it an improvement over the state-of-the-art, i.e. what makes it inventive over and

above the prior art cited above?

Explain why it is unlikely that someone with average knowledge in this technical field (taking into consideration the closest prior art) would have determined the same solution when presented with the problem?

How difficult would it be for a person skilled in this area to devise an alternative means to address the same customer problem but without relying on your innovation/invention?

Conception and Public DisclosureTo avoid loss of IP rights patent applications for an invention must be filed prior to any public disclosure of material or information pertaining to the invention. However if a disclosure has been made in the past twelve months it may still be possible to recover some IP rights in certain jurisdictions. With this in mind please use the following information to assist you in providing the relevant dates and details for the events below.

Conception of the invention is classed as formulation in the mind of the inventor of the complete means for solving a problem.

Reduction to practice is when the invention has first been physically put to test (a working prototype) or a full written description recorded that would easily allow a third party to work the invention.

The first disclosure is classed as the first time any information concerning the invention, written or oral, was disclosed to any member of the public without the constraints of confidentiality. This can include but not limited to publications, slides, seminars, lectures or simply talking to somebody about the invention.

Provide the details for any anticipated disclosures or publications (written or oral) that are planned. Disclosure through publishing work or presenting at seminars is still allowable providing that patent



protection is sought prior. In most cases where adequate warning of anticipated disclosures is given there is little or no resulting delay to the publication of research.

Event Date Details / Comments

Conception of the invention DD/MM/YYYY

Reduction to practice DD/MM/YYYY

First disclosure / publication DD/MM/YYYY

Anticipated disclosures / publications DD/MM/YYYY

Software

Protecting Software

Please describe in detail the software embodying your innovation. What code has been used to write it; what platform / operating system does it run on; what devices will it run on; what is the location of the server (if appropriate), e.g. on-site, cloud-based, etc?

Does your software run or rely on any third-party software in order to function? If so, please describe it in similar detail to your software and how you have obtained lawful access and use of it.

Please describe your strategy for protecting the software, including the use of patents, encryption or other means to prevent unlawful copying.Please note, copyright only protects the specific code of a computer program. It does not protect the ideas or method that might be embodied in the specific program. Once those methods are known, a competent programmer would be able to write a 'new' program that could perform those methods without infringing copyright on any pre-existing computer program. Therefore, copyright is not typically an effective means of protecting the intellectual property underpinning software.Also note, Australian patent law enables a diverse range of software to gain patent protection. However, patent law differs in other countries, so this form of protection may not be of use in the intended markets for your product/service. Software inventions must be industrially applied. Software that is merely a procedure for solving a given type of mathematical problem is not patentable. Similarly, mathematical algorithms and abstract intellectual concepts, on their own, are not patentable.

What is your strategy for ensuring your software remains commercially attractive, i.e. improvements, updates, extensions, etc?

Design

Registering Designs

A design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation which gives a product a unique appearance, and must be new and distinctive.o 'new' - meaning it must not be identical to any design previously disclosed anywhere in the world

(including on the internet), nor any design previously used in Australia; ando 'distinctive' - meaning it must not be substantially similar in overall impression to any design



previously published anywhere in the world (including on the internet), nor any design previously used in Australia.

Please note, you do not need a design for artwork, which is automatically protected by copyright. You do need a design if your artwork is applied to a product, which gives that product a unique look. You don't need a design for circuit layouts, which are automatically protected by a modified version of copyright. Further information can be found on the IP Australia website (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/designs/).

Please describe in detail the design involved in your innovation and insert or attach relevant drawings, images, etc.

Please describe your efforts to ensure or confirm that your design is “new” and “distinctive” as described above. The main types of design searches you should undertake include:

o Design registers and databases (Australian Designs Data Searching (ADDS))o Prior arto Infringement searcheso Free to use searcheso Competitor/name based searches

Have you publicly disclosed your design (e.g. exhibited, sold copies, or posted your design on a website)? If so, please describe the nature of the disclosure.

Trademarks

Protecting Brands

A trade mark is used to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another. A trade mark is a right that is granted for a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture and/or aspect of packaging. A registered trade mark is legally enforceable and gives you exclusive rights to commercially use, licence or sell it for the goods and services that it is registered under.Further information can be found on the IP Australia website (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/trade-marks/). Before applying, ECU needs to decide if registering a trade mark is appropriate, where to register it and what classes it should cover.

Please describe in detail the brand, product name, logo, etc, involved in the commercialisation of your innovation and insert or attach relevant drawings, images, etc.(Please note, Names and descriptions are difficult to register as trademarks because other traders have a legitimate need to use these terms to indicate their similar goods or services.)

Please describe your efforts to ensure or confirm that your proposed trademark is not already in use. The main types of searches you should undertake include:

o Australian Trade Mark Online Search System (ATMOSS) o Infringement searcheso Free to use searcheso Competitor/name based searches

Please explain when you believe is the appropriate time to register your trademark? (Please note that you can only make minor changes to a trade mark once an application has been filed and published. No goods or services may be added after publication. For this reason, trademarks should only be registered when there is a clear picture of the product/service to be commercialised and there is a risk the trademark might be registered


http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/atmoss/falcon.application_start

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/trade-marks/

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/trade-marks/

http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/adds2/adds.adds_start.intro

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/designs/

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/designs/


by a third-party.)

Know-How (Trade Secret)

Protecting Know-How

A trade secret is both a type of IP and a strategy for protecting your IP. It can provide effective protection for some technologies, proprietary knowledge (know-how), confidential information and other forms of IP. A trade secret is appropriate when it's difficult to copy a product. This may include the construction or formulation of the product or the process of manufacturing the product when reverse engineering is unlikely. Treating your IP as a trade secret is also appropriate if your IP is unlikely to result in a registrable right or if you want to retain exclusive use beyond the term of a patent.

Please describe in detail the know-how within your innovation.

Please describe your strategy for protecting the know-how.(Please note, secrecy does not stop anyone else from inventing the same product or process independently and exploiting it commercially. It does not afford exclusive rights and a business may be vulnerable when employees with this knowledge leave. Trade secrets are difficult to maintain over a long time or when many people know the secret. Proving a breach of confidentiality under common law can be complex and is potentially more costly than defending registered rights.)

How difficult would it be to reverse engineer the know-how within your product/service?

What is your strategy for ensuring your product/service remains commercially attractive?

Copyright

Copyright Protection

Copyright protection is free and automatic in Australia and protects the original expression of ideas, and not the ideas themselves. Common works protected by copyright are books, films, music, sound, recordings, newspapers, magazines and artwork. Copyright also protects originally created typographical arrangements, databases, media broadcasts, computer programs, compositions of other people's work such as academic journals or CD compilations.

Please describe in detail the copyright involve with your innovation.

Please describe your strategy using copyright in the commercialisation of your innovation.(Please note, copyright doesn't protect you against independent creation of a similar work. Legal actions against infringement are at times complicated by the fact that a number of different copyrights may exist in some works - particularly films, broadcasts and multimedia products. It is important to note that copyright is lost if you apply a three-dimensional artistic work industrially. Most three-dimensional designs that are mass produced have very limited copyright rights. This means if you have created a three-dimensional design for industrial purposes you will usually need to formally register it as a design in order to receive protection.)



Plant Breeders Rights

Protecting New Plant Breeds

If you have developed a new plant variety, a Plant Breeders Right might be an appropriate means to protect it. A Plant Breeders Right is legally enforceable and gives the owner exclusive rights to commercially use it, sell it, direct the production, sale and distribution of it, and receive royalties from the sale of plants. Only eligible new, recently exploited or essentially derived varieties can be registered. Please visit the IP Australia website for more information (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/plant-breeders-rights/about-pbr/).

Please describe in your new and distinctive plant breed / variety.

Is your plant breed a: New variety Recently exploited variety Essentially derived variety Dependent variety Harvested material

Please justify your selection above.

Please describe your efforts to ensure or confirm that your plant breed is “new” and “distinctive” as described above. The main types of design searches you should undertake include:

o Design registers and databases (Plant Breeder's Rights Database)o Infringement searcheso Free to use searcheso Competitor/name based searches

Other Sources of Sustainable Competitive AdvantageYou may feel that there are other sources of sustainable product or business advantage that are relevant to the commercialisation of your innovation or invention. In addressing the questions below you should only describe sustainable competitive advantages that fall outside the conventional definitions of IP set out in the above sections. Please ensure you describe and explain the source of the advantage and the means by which you believe it will be sustainable and/or protectable.

Please describe any additional sources of sustainable competitive advantage that have not been addressed elsewhere.

Please describe and explain the source of the advantage(s) and the means by which you believe it (they) will be sustainable and/or protectable.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of Protectable IP and/or Sustainable Competitive AdvantageThe following persons acknowledge that relative to the above, to the best of their knowledge, an appropriate form of IP protection or other means of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage can be sought to support the proposed customer value proposition and more generally the commercialisation of the IP:


http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/pbr_db/

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/plant-breeders-rights/about-pbr/





ATTACHMENTS:

Signed copy of your completed/supported Self-Assessment Form attached

Signed copy of your completed/supported Invention Disclosure Form attached

Final support is subject to:

i) Satisfactory completion of all questions;

ii) All acknowledgements made;

iii) Attachment of required documentation

iv) Signature by all innovators/inventors

Support of this form signals this project has sufficient merit to warrant progression to the next stage of the ECU research commercialisation process. The next stage involves seeking and obtaining funding to facilitate the development of a full commercialisation strategy and plan.

Subsequent stages of the ECU research commercialisation process include proceeding with appropriate IP protection, strategy development and planning, securing further co-funding support for implementation, strategy and plan implementation, measuring, monitoring and managing returns, and eventually exiting or closing of the project.

Prepared By ______________________________________

[Replace this text with Name of Author, Position and Date]

Supported By ______________________________________

[Replace this text with Name of Lead Inventor, Position and Date]

Supported By ______________________________________

[Copy and paste for additional Inventors, including Position and Date OR delete]


Documents

ATTACHMENTS: - Edith Cowan Universityintranet.ecu.edu.au/.../word_doc/0011/626591/ECU...IP-… · Web viewSuch discussions are considered a healthy and necessary part of the overall