Why does research have to be protected?
- Your research generates knowledge that can be applied beyond the UdG. Protecting it will give it much more value when it is commercialised.
- The transfer of your knowledge to a business setting translates into a direct benefit for society and into economic returns for the UdG and for you.
- At the same time, it is a way of getting recognition of your authorship, something that is increasingly taken into account and valued in professional promotion criteria.
What can be protected?
There are several mechanisms to protect the results of research and creative activity. They are included in industrial property rights (patents, utility models, industrial designs and brands) and intellectual property rights (software, rights over artistic, literary and scientific works). There is also Trade Secrets.
When do you need to do it?
- A result always has to be protected before it is presented in the form of a publication (it could be an article in a journal, a paper at a conference, poster, thesis, oral dissemination, etc.)
- It is not incompatible to protect and to publish. These are two formalities that can be carried out in parallel, but it is essential to formalise them in the correct order: protect first, then publish.
How is it protected at the University of Girona?
- The Office of Research and Technology Transfer at the UdG, through the Valuation Unit, is responsible for carrying out the entire protection process. Contact: valoritzacio@udg.edu
- We will arrange a meeting with you, start the process and we will accompany you at all times supporting you with the decision-making and assuming the cost of a possible protection application.