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Guidelines on the Protection and Commercialization of Intellectual Property

Strictly speaking, the term “knowledge and technology transfer” is used to refer to cooperation processes between a university and its external partners with the primary objective of transferring knowledge and technology for use in commercial or practical applications. Knowledge and technology transfer are considered a core task of universities alongside research and teaching:

"The universities and institutions of higher education shall promote knowledge and technology transfer” (Section 2.7 of the German Framework Act for Higher Education)."

"They [the universities] shall promote knowledge transfer between their institutions and all sectors of society, and work toward ensuring that any scientific and scholarly findings gained can be further developed or utilized in the interest of wider society." (Section 4.5.2 of the Berlin Higher Education Act)

The commercial exploitation of inventions and other forms of intellectual property is considered a feasible and important form of knowledge and technology transfer. As the employer of those working at the university – and thus generally speaking the holder of commercially exploitable intellectual property – Freie Universität Berlin has a duty of care with regard to the protection and commercialization of said intellectual property. This strategy for the commercial exploitation of intellectual property at Freie Universität Berlin serves as the foundation on which the university fulfills this important role and implements its objectives in the long term while factoring in the existing framework conditions to the greatest possible extent and meeting the applicable legal requirements.

Objectives of Freie Universität Berlin: 

  • Ensure the freedom of scientific research and contribute to the transfer of research results for the benefit of society
  • Safeguard legal claims to intellectual property
  • Showcase research specializations and support the acquisition of third-party funding
  • Boost the employability of the next generation of researchers
  • Generate revenue
  • Foster spin-offs

The Executive Board of Freie Universität Berlin approved the adoption of the following Guidelines on the Protection and Commercialization of Intellectual Property on August 8, 2016.