IP Policies

Intellectual Property Management in WA Health

Information Circular IC 0228/15 informs WA Health staff of the State government’s intellectual property (IP) policy and specific IP management and reporting procedures in WA Health.

WA Government IP policy

In August 2015, the Department of Commerce updated the State Government’s Intellectual Property (IP) Policy and released the revised Western Australian Government Intellectual Property Policy 2015 (external site)

The purpose of this policy is to guide Western Australian Government Agencies in the development, management and use of Intellectual Property (IP) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The policy recognises that IP created within Government agencies is a government asset with a potential source of value to the Western Australian economy and community.

The Government's aim is to actively seek to optimise the economic, social and environmental benefits to Western Australians from the use and commercialisation of IP, in conjunction with the business community.

This policy is consistent with other local and national guidelines, as stated in:

• Interim Guidelines for Intellectual Property Management for Health and Medical Research (2001) (external PDF 96KB) produced by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
• National Principles of Intellectual Property Management for Publicly Funded Research (2001) (external site), prepared by The Australian Research Council, The Australian Tertiary Institutions Commercial Companies Association, The Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, The Department of Industry, Science and Resources, IP Australia and the NHMRC.

In accordance with the policy, Government agencies in conjunction with recipients of government resources should ensure that:

1. IP assets, including data, created with government resources are identified, captured, suitably protected, responsibly managed, and transparently disposed of according to the key principles outlined in this policy
2. Rights to IP created with government resources are allocated to optimise the economic, social or environmental benefits for the State from the use, commercialisation and disposal of the IP
3. Employers and employees are encouraged to meet core operational objectives through creativity and innovation which may result in valuable and useful IP being developed and commercialised
4. Employees are recognised for their involvement in the development of IP.

The Department of Health strongly supports this approach to the management of health sector IP, recognising the great value that innovation and commercialisation can have in both advancing health care delivery and optimising the return on the State Government's investment in health.

Employee Rewards

To encourage best management practices and innovation across the Western Australian Government, the Department of Commerce, in consultation with the Department of Treasury, is developing a framework that will detail how the benefits derived from intellectual property should be shared.

Until the new framework is developed and approved the existing employee reward procedures Encouraging Innovation by Government employees: Procedures for the payment of monetary rewards to innovative Government employees (external site) continues to apply.

More information

• Research and Innovation Office
  Department of Health
  Neil Lynch, Senior Policy Officer RIO
  Phone: 9222 4053
  Post: PO Box 8172 Perth Business Centre, Perth 6849
  Address: Level G, C Block, 189 Royal Street, East Perth 6004