The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched 'Lambert 2' - an update to the Lambert Toolkit which aims to boost collaboration between businesses and industry by providing model agreements and guidance for use in negotiations.
The IPO's announcement and link to the updated toolkit can be found here.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, said that Lambert 2 fosters "an environment of trust between research partners by helping parties to protect their...IP rights" and was part of wider efforts by the Government to boost university-industry collaboration, coming alongside the Chancellor's recent announcement of £120 million additional funding for technology transfer. Malcolm Skingle, Director of Academic Liaison at GSK and PraxisUnico Board member, was part of Lambert Working Group responsible for updating the agreements. He commented that "Lambert [had] made knowledge sharing and partnership working far more straightforward and cost effective."
The Lambert Toolkit initiative demonstrates how KEC practitioners and stakeholders in industry, research funding, and government work together to enhance opportunities for universities and businesses to work together successfully. While the Toolkit is not designed for all types of collaboration, for those new to university partnerships it is a valuable starting point. The Dowling Review (2015) noted the high level of satisfaction among users of the Toolkit in terms of; simplifing the process of constructing contracts, providing useful information and precedents.