Geneva, 4 June 2012. CERN has adopted a new approach to knowledge transfer under the label of CERN Easy Access IP, an initiative to make it easier for businesses and entrepreneurs to access intellectual property generated at CERN in the course of its research programme. CERN Easy Access IP involves granting a free license for selected technologies from CERN’s portfolio. The full portfolio is available through a wide range of channels including R&D collaborations, services and consultancy, support to spin-off companies and the creation of business incubation centres in CERN’s Member States.

“CERN Easy Access IP joins existing technology transfer opportunities offered by CERN. It is an additional tool to maximize access to our technologies and know-how,”explained Giovanni Anelli, Head of CERN’s Knowledge Transfer Group. “Sometimes our technologies are too early stage for a company to risk investment. By offering free access, we aim to encourage our partners to evaluate and commercialise those technologies, thus making it easier for CERN and industry, both spin-off companies and established ones, to work together.”

As of today, CERN’s Knowledge Transfer Group is placing selected CERN technologies in an Easy Access IP portfolio. Companies or institutions wishing to license CERN Easy Access IP technologies will be required to acknowledge CERN’s contribution and report to CERN’s Knowledge Transfer group on the development of the invention.

“We strive to be as flexible as possible when it comes to dissemination of our intellectual property,” said Enrico Chesta, Head of the Technology Transfer and IP Management Section. “The technologies licenced under the Easy Access IP scheme will be royalty free and shared with qualified companies willing and able to take them to the market with clear benefits for the economy and for society. The return for us is the establishment of strong, lasting relationships with external partners.”

Easy Access IP was first trialled by Easy Access Innovation, a collaborative project between the University of Glasgow, King’s College London and the University of Bristol.

Contact:

CERN Knowledge Transfer, mail-KT@cern.ch

Further information:

• CERN Easy Access IP
• CERN Knowledge Transfer

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its member states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Romania is a candidate for accession. Israel and Serbia are associate members in the pre-stage to membership. India, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have observer status.