Invention rights and protection

Researchers who hold the intellectual property rights to an invention under the Act on the Right to Inventions Made at Higher Education Institutions can choose to assign those rights to the University. This is often advantageous to individual researchers because commercialisation and its preparation require resources that few have.

If the University decides to accept the rights offered to it, the University will pay the cost of preparations for commercialisation as well as the commercialisation itself. Again, the researchers will be compensated as described above. In addition, the researcher benefits from the University bearing the financial risk for preparing the commercialisation.

Despite their commercial potential, innovations created through research are usually no more than observations that require extensive further development before becoming commercially viable. This commercialisation process involves examining the invention from several perspectives, which may open up unexpected opportunities for application.

A patent provides exclusive rights to a new technology, which is a prerequisite for selling or licensing an invention. Not all ideas can be patented, however. Business ideas, teaching methods, games and computer software, for example, must be protected differently.

If your invention proves to be commercially valuable, it should be protected so as to prevent copying and to derive financial benefit. Our staff are familiar with the different stages of the commercialisation process and are happy to help you protect your idea or advise you on licensing issues.

Software cannot usually be patented in Finland, but it can be protected under copyright. Even so, the solution or method that the software implements may be patentable.

The software commercialized path generally progresses faster than other areas of technology, as the prototype often develops in parallel with the investigation. Consequently, copyright issues should be established at an early stage of development. If several persons have participated in developing software, it is important to ensure that copyrights are appropriately shared.

Innovations related to health care, education and learning can be protected by converting the knowledge or competence into an easily distributable format. Such packaging can be compared to a TV format, in which a recognisable concept and brand are created for a product. The format can be a game or a mobile application, for example. In such cases, the product or its parts can be protected under trademark and copyright, which prohibits copying and brings commercial benefit to its developer.

Funding commercialisation

Read the Act on the Right in Inventions