Managing IP at CERN

• Pages: 7-10

After several ye ars of experience in the field of

technology transfer, the Europea n Organization

for Nucle ar Research (C ERN) recently formalized a

policy linked to it s technol ogy trans fer activ ities.

In t his articl e,

CERN’s Know ledge and Technology

Transfer Group

outline the details of that poli cy.

Basic science is the primary driver of inn ovation.

That m uch is sim ple. But e nsuring tha t technolo-

gies dev eloped in the name of b asic science turn

into useful innovations for soc iety is a much hard -

er nut t o crack . CERN ’s commitment to transfer-

ring knowledge and techn ology to society dates

back to the early days of the laborator y, as does

the question of wheth er or not to protect its i n-

tellectua l property (IP).

Can IP be p rotected whi le preser ving t he open-

ness that charac terizes the fundamental research

environment?

To better understand the issue, it is wor th pointing

out that the “open science” model, within which

CERN typically operates, relies on full and timely

disclosure of findings and methods. This model rec-

ognizes that scientific progress and the expansion

of technological knowledge is a cumulative

process, according to which scientists “stand on the

shoulders” of previous researchers to advance their

own research. For this reason, CERN publishes the

results of its experimental and theoretical work and

makes them widely available.

Some conseq uences of this approac h became ev-

ident when CERN de veloped t he contr ol system

for th e Super Proton Synchrotro n (SPS) which

came on-stream in 1976. The SPS w as the first of

CERN’s acc elerators to have a computerized con-

trol system. Those develo ping it came up with the

concepts of tou ch screens and tr ackballs – ideas

that were well ahead of their ti me.

CERN’s main com puter supplier wa s interested,

but unable, to invest in the p roject u nless CE RN

committed not to disclose the technolog y to

third parties. Such a propositi on flew in th e face

of the open scienc e model, and so trackb alls and

touch screens stayed i n the control room. Thes e

technologi es were put on hold an d had to be

reinvented an d brought to market years later. Was

this a misse d opportunity, or ju st an idea ahead of

its time ?

The World Wide Web marked a turning point in

CERN’s approach to IP and industrial innovati on.

On Ap ril 30, 1993, Tim Be rners-Lee pe rsuaded

MANAGING IP

AT CERN

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7

‘‘Fundamental science is where

new ideas and methods begin

that later become commonplace’’

Photos: CERN

Left: View of the LHC

tunnel

Top:Aerial view of CERN