The university-promoted patent at the crossroads of the research results and immediate industrial use

The departments, indeed the laboratories of the public research institutions, no longer are satisfied with displaying a certain number of annual scientific publications meant to highlight their expertise and know-how. In effect, for some years now, a new trend has been in vogue: stimulated by all the national and international public bodies, they are calling increasingly on the “patent pending” solution to make optimum use of the results of specific researches on the one hand and, on the other hand, to assert their excellence vis-à-vis the Ministry of Research of their country which is supposed to finance them.

However, caught up in the euphoria of the research results, and lost in their formulae and practices, these researchers lose sight of the basis for a patent and its real reason for being (patent charter). A patent necessarily must be of service to the community, that is to say that essentially it must contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the population. To achieve this goal, going through certain stages is a must, namely that to start with a patent must be absolutely profitable to industry in order that, subsequently, it be consistent with its being of service to the community. In this context, its validity is set at 10 years renewable for another 10 years based on specific parameters as stipulated by the national and international patent institutions, indeed by the EPO (European Patent Office) the headquarters of which is in Munich. Its use by industry ensures proceeds for 10, even 20 years and must represent the material fruit of the applicant's effort. Beyond this period, the patent becomes public and therefore available to everyone. But the crucial problem is this: when can a patent really be used and how to do so as best as possible to guarantee profits for both parties involved and thus justify its reason for being?

The purpose of this work thus is to incite university researchers to think about the real usefulness of a patent on the one hand and, on the other hand, to ponder over the best way of using, in close cooperation with industry, the fruit of the research and the registering of the patent, both financed by public funds. For the latter, owing to their nature, demand that there be no wastage and cautious management thereof.