As the central advisory body within the university’s patent strategy, the Patent Advisory Board ensures well-informed decision-making regarding the BTU’s intellectual property. It brings together specialist expertise to provide strategic and operational support to the university management and the Patents and Licences Unit.

Tasks and functions

The committee deals with all key issues relating to intellectual property rights:

• Patent procedures: providing advice on the registration, extension and maintenance of patents.
• Collaborations: Supporting communication and negotiations with companies and external partners.
• Inventor’s rights: Clarification of complex issues within the employer-employee inventor relationship.
• Strategic direction: Discussion of fundamental issues and the further development of the university’s approach to intellectual property rights.

Framework and organisation

The work of the Patent Advisory Board is characterised by an efficient structure:

• Frequency of meetings: The committee meets two to three times a year, with each meeting lasting approximately two hours.
• Composition: The Patents and Licences Unit invites at least one representative from each of the BTU’s research-oriented faculties to join the committee.
• Term of appointment: permanent, with a changing, dynamic composition.
• Procedure: The meetings include progress reports on current patent developments, strategic policy decisions and the discussion of specific individual cases.
• Responsibilities: The organisational and substantive preparation of the meetings is carried out entirely by the Patents and Licences Unit.
• Status: The experts participate on a voluntary basis, and their involvement is recognised as official committee work.