On 12 May 2025, UCL’s Institute for Brand and Innovation Law hosted a conference that unveiled results from a comprehensive examination of intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation policies from across 138 English Universities. The analysis brought together a multidisciplinary team comprising Dr Alison Slade, Dr Josef Walker, and Dr Ashleigh Hamidzadeh from the University of Leicester, Professor Mark Anderson from UCL, and Professor Naomi Hawkins from the ÌÇÐÄVlog.
The project examined commercialisation policies, including revenue-sharing arrangements, university shareholdings in spinouts, and their alignment with recommendations from the Tracey/Williamson Review and the USIT guides. The analysis also provided a timely update on how universities are responding to other external pressures including the High Court decision in Oxford University Innovation v Oxford Nanoimaging [2022] EWHC 3200 (Pat), which raised fundamental questions about university IP ownership claims and commercialisation practices.
The conference, made possible through funding from the ESRC’s Impact Accelerator Award, brought together leading experts in IP law, university knowledge exchanges, and policy makers to discuss the findings and their implications. It also featured a panel discussion with senior representatives from Knowledge Exchange UK, Leicester Research & Enterprise, LifeArc, Research England, UCL Innovation & Enterprise, and UKRI.
The project and conference make a significant contribution to the ongoing national debate about university commercialisation practices and their impact on knowledge exchange, academic entrepreneurship, and the UK’s economic competitiveness.
