Following a recent reorganisation of the nation’s publicly funded science research institution structure, the New Zealand government has this week announced a mandated new pathway for science and technology commercialisation from 2026.
Science and technology Minister, Shane Reti says that a more consistent national approach to intellectual property management is needed in order to reward scientist inventors directly and open up new opportunities for commercialisation. For a small, cash-strapped economy that currently achieves about half the average OECD investment rate into research, science and technology (RS&T), this move can only be beneficial.
Christchurch based innovation commentator, startup venture advisor and previous tech company co-founder, Paul Spence, explains that in a rapidly changing global economy, New Zealand cannot continue to rely on earning a living predominantly from largely unprocessed primary commodities. “To secure our future, we must move up the value chain and convert more of our research ideas into global enterprises”, he says.
Key aspects of the new policy include that university researchers will have the first right to commercialise their inventions with the option of operating independently or working with their university for support. University equity in spin-outs will be capped at around 5-10%, so inventors retain the majority of benefits, whilst incentivizing external capital investments. However, public research organisations will retain first rights to market discoveries – but if they choose not to pursue, researcher inventors may then proceed in their own capacity. The policy marks are substantial change in how the New Zealand government expectations of a return on publicly funded science.
Update: In a LinkedIn post, Rod McNaughton, director of the Centre for Innovation at University of Auckland and adjunct Professor at University of Waterloo, points out that (unlike the “Waterloo model”) New Zealand’s model gives researchers a first right to commercialise, but NOT automatic ownership. Also, where research or inventions draw upon multiple grants, different parts of the same project may sit under different IP regimes. Ownership can only transfer after disclosure, negotiation, and classification. But additional complexity such as this will require careful thinking through by researchers, says Genius ReFi founder Paul Spence. Would this give slow moving research institutions and universities an opportunity to hinder progress? In which case, nothing has really changed.
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