Dropping patent protection can help bring academic and industry researchers together
Marie Louise Conradsen, head of open innovation in science at Aarhus University
Much of the recent debate on closing Europe’s innovation gap with the US and China has centred on top-down policy initiatives, such as those put forward by Mario Draghi, and protecting traditional industries like the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. However, solutions may also emerge from below, and a growing number of universities and companies see the value in adopting a more open approach in parts of the R&D process.
One such initiative, from Aarhus University and the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Denmark, suggests that patent-free models can stimulate collaboration between academia and industry, and incentivise high-risk research.
The Open Innovation in Science platforms developed at Aarhus bring together researchers and…
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