Can a preprint jeopardise the novelty of a patent? Can an industry partner delay or prevent the publication of a scientific paper? Does being first author entitle you to a share of the royalties? Who owns data and software developed in the laboratory?
Scientific research produces far more than patents: it generates methods, protocols, datasets, software and collaborations within complex networks involving universities, research institutions, businesses and funding bodies.
Long before publication or market entry, the fate of a research result is often determined by decisions made — or left unmade — in the laboratory. In this context, being the author of a publication, the inventor of a solution or the owner of the relevant rights are legally distinct positions.
The end of the so-called professor’s privilege has made this balance even more delicate. Today, for many inventions, the rights belong to the institution, while researchers retain the right to be recognised as inventors and to receive any rewards or financial entitlements provided by law, while also being required to comply with specific rules on disclosure, novelty and dissemination. For universities and research institutions, effective technology transfer governance is crucial; for businesses, it is essential to prevent premature publication or uncertain ownership from undermining their investment.
The risk is not limited to losing patent protection. Incomplete contracts, untraceable contributions or inadequate management of data and software can make research results difficult to protect, license or develop into a spin-off.
This webinar provides a practical framework for coordinating rules and decisions before research results leave the laboratory, while protecting the converging interests of researchers, institutions and businesses.
What we will cover
- Beyond patents: when the nature, protection, ownership and availability of datasets, software, protocols and know-how become contentious.
- Authors, inventors and rights holders: why authorship of a paper, recognition as an inventor and economic rights may belong to different parties — and give rise to different types of dispute.
- Who controls research results: how decision-making powers over patent filing, publication, access and exploitation are allocated among researchers, universities, Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs), funding bodies and industry partners.
- Publishing without compromising protection: how to manage preprints, posters, theses, repositories and conferences when patent novelty, confidentiality and academic freedom are at stake.
- From research results to value: how research contracts, agreements and licences can prevent disputes over background knowledge, newly generated results, data, software and spin-offs.
Who should attend
The webinar is aimed at researchers, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, principal investigators, laboratory and project managers who are preparing a publication, entering into a collaboration, disclosing an invention or considering how to protect and commercialise a research result.
It is also intended for universities, public research organisations and IRCCS institutions: research directors and managers, Technology Transfer Offices, research managers, grant offices, legal and administrative teams, heads of department and members of governing bodies responsible for publications, inventions, agreements and technology transfer.
The webinar is also relevant to businesses that carry out, fund or commission research, as well as R&D managers, innovation managers, IP and legal teams, entrepreneurs and spin-offs that need to structure collaborations with academia, acquire or license research results, or verify that the rights required for commercial exploitation are properly secured.
Where and when
The Law of Science will take place online as a live webinar on 18 March, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Participation is free of charge, subject to registration. Access instructions will be sent with the registration confirmation. Participants are advised to connect at least five minutes before the webinar begins.
The webinar will be held in Italian.
Speaker
Arlo Canella is a lawyer admitted to practise before the Italian Supreme Court, a member of the Milan Bar and Managing Partner of Canella Camaiora® Law Firm. He specialises in civil law, intellectual property and technological innovation.For seven consecutive years (2020–2026), Canella Camaiora® has been recognised in the Il Sole 24 Ore–Statista survey among Italy’s Law Firms of the Year.