Patenting of Research Outputs in the University of Eswatini

Abstract

The research was conducted with the aim of assessing the status with regards to patenting of research outputs at the University of Eswatini (UNEWSA). The data collection instrument (questionnaire) used in the study was designed to capture information on the awareness level of the respondents in matters of Intellectual Property (IP) governance in the country and on the IP subject in general. The other two major components captured during the data collection were to establish the existing patenting opportunities as well as the challenges that hinder the patenting with accompanying solutions to improve the situation. A total of thirty participants from different departments which were categorized into sciences (21) and non-sciences (9) responded to the questionnaire. The study results showed that the level of awareness of IP was higher among the sciences than the non-sciences. The awareness of the IP governing institutions and national laws was generally lower than the awareness on the IP subject across all the study disciplines. About 86% of the respondents in the sciences indicated that their research outputs were patentable and only 33% of the respondents in the non-sciences category gave the same response. However, when asked if they had registered patents, only 14% and 11% of the respondents indicated that they had registered patents in the sciences and non-sciences, respectively. The issue of lack of funds was highlighted by 80% of the respondents in the two groups combined who indicated that there were no funds to support IP matters and for conducting quality research in the university. The other challenge that was identified to be a major bottleneck on the patenting of research outputs at the UNESWA included; weak linkages between the industry and the university. Major conclusions drawn were that there is a high level of awareness on the IP subject but not on the institutional and policy framework at the national level. It was also concluded that the existing potential for patenting research outputs is high. Areas that have to be attended to improve the situation in as far as patenting research include IP awareness especially of the national legal framework, improving the funding mechanisms to improve the quality of research and to strengthen the linkages between the university and the industry.