Technology Management and Commercialization Office (TMCO)

The Office has been established as an institution development by a Ministerial Decree 3075/2001 and run under direct jurisdiction of the ARC President .

Objectives:

  • Setup a permanent internal Office to provide legal and professional services for all ARC staff to protect their innovations and technological inventions, regardless of the type of such intellectual properties. The Office will continue its services to help licensing of all ARC proven technologies to end-users to help realization of the Egyptian National Agricultural Development Strategy.
  • The Office runs its activities according to an "Internal Policy for Technology Management and Commercialization (IP Policy)" issued by a Ministerial Decree 1402/2002. Such Policy specifies the obligations and the responsibilities of ARC, ARC-Staff and end-user in case of intellectual property (IP) protection and technology transfer.
  • The Office is being managed by professional staff holding PhD in different Agricultural Technologies and trained in technology management. The Office also has access to other legal consultants and expertise in the areas of marketing, promotion, and plant variety protection. A "Trustee Committee" has been established to follow-up with Office mission.

The Office scope of services includes:

  • Provide all technical documents for ARC staff in form of full patent text, database, and electronic connection with all IPR strategic offices around the world.
  • Provide legal support in filling intellectual property protection documents on behalf of the inventor or the breeder, reviewing all research cooperation and licensing agreements and follow-up agreement execution and any infringement to ARC-IPs.
  • Run awareness programs to improve ARC staff-knowledge of intellectual properties, ARC internal IP policy and related international conventions.
  • Evaluation of ARC generated technologies to determine the marketability of each technology and its market niche.
  • Setup a marketing plan for every technology in Collaboration with technology marketing experts.
  • Negotiate license agreement on behalf of the inventor or breeder with potential end-users to get best legal executable terms and follow-up the execution of the agreement to ensure technology proper application and royalties' distribution.

Achievements:

  • Conduct 25 awareness programs within ARC and with other interested institutions outside ARC.
  • Apply for 5 patent applications with Egyptian Patents Office.
  • Organize a symposium on "Intellectual Properties and Agricultural Technologies"
  • Issue a "Patents" guideline booklet to help ARC staff understand patent law as well as application procedure to get full protection for their innovations.
  • Active involvement in issuing the executive regulations of the Intellectual Property Law 82/2002 (Plant Variety Protection)

Future Prospects:

  • Using advanced tools to serve and reach all ARC staff through local ARC Network.
  • Setup an annual prize for ARC inventors and breeders.
  • Issue an annual report on "ARC Technology Status " where we the technological achievements of ARC staff throughout the year are to be published.
  • Generate new source of research funding for ARC through technology licensing and commercialization.
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