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Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, 2008 (Act No. 51 of 2008)

9. Functions of NIPMO

 

1) NIPMO must promote the objects of this Act, which includes the statutory protection, management and commercialisation of the intellectual property referred to it by a recipient in terms of section 4.

 

2) NIPMO must ensure that it has the capacity to consider any intellectual property referred to it by a recipient in terms of section 4, and to deal with it in accordance with this Act.

 

3) NIPMO must liaise with the recipients or any other party it deems fit to determine the viability of –
a) obtaining statutory protection for the intellectual property referred to it, if it is in the national interest;
b) concluding any intellectual property transactions; or
c) commercialisation of such intellectual property.

 

4) NIPMO must, furthermore –
a) manage information in respect of intellectual property contemplated in this Act, including data concerning the recipients;
b) provide incentives to recipients and their intellectual property creators, to reward them for proactively securing protection for intellectual property and commercialising it and, generally, for promoting innovation;
c) provide assistance to institutions with –
i) the establishment of offices of technology transfer and related capacity-building;
ii) intellectual property transactions;
iii) commercialisation of intellectual property; and
iv) any other matter provided for in this Act;
d) provide appropriate standards and best practices in consultation with a recipient, without limiting the power of the recipient to act in its own interests in terms of this Act;
e) develop guidelines for intellectual property transactions involving non-South African entities and persons, and manage the implementation of such guidelines; and
f) monitor, evaluate and review the obligations of recipients in terms of this Act.

 

5) In addition to its other functions, NIPMO may do anything necessary to meet the objects of this Act and to carry out any other function consistent with those objects that may be prescribed.

 

6) Any administrative decision of NIPMO that adversely affects a recipient must be dealt with in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No.3 of 2000).