Pursuant to Article 21 of the Statute of the University of Zagreb, the Senate of the University of Zagreb, at its 15th regular session in the 353rd academic year (2021/2022), held on 19 July 2022, adopted the Regulation on Intellectual Property Management at the University of Zagreb, governing the technology transfer process at the University of Zagreb.
The technology transfer process comprises the following steps:
Employees, students, and collaborators are required to disclose research results that constitute intellectual creations to the head of the constituent unit or, as applicable, to the University. For the purposes of this Regulation, intellectual creations refer specifically to those that, under the Guidelines on Intellectual Property Management at the University of Zagreb belong to the constituent units or the University, and which are likely to have commercial potential, for which there is interest from third parties, or which are suitable for presentation at trade fairs, exhibitions, and similar events showcasing innovations, inventions, patents, designs, copyrighted works, and other intellectual creations, or which their creators intend to exploit commercially themselves or offer to third parties for commercialization or use.
Where an intellectual creation has more than one creator, the creators shall jointly submit the disclosure and undertake all other actions required under the Regulation on Intellectual Property Management at the University of Zagreb.
2. The disclosure shall be submitted using the form prepared by the University for use by the constituent units and the University. It must include a declaration by the employee, student, or collaborator confirming the originality of the research and its results. A template of the disclosure form is available from the Technology Transfer Office.
Based on the submitted disclosure, the head of the constituent unit shall decide, in accordance with the constituent unit’s internal procedures and any additional criteria it may apply, whether to initiate the legal protection and commercialization of the research results as an intellectual creation. The decision shall be made within 60 + 30 days of receipt of the disclosure, in writing and accompanied by a statement of reasons, and shall be forwarded to the relevant service of the University of Zagreb for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a centralized register of all research results.
In handling the disclosure of research results or carrying out the commercialization process, the constituent unit may engage external experts or entrust the implementation of the relevant procedures to the University of Zagreb.
4. If the head of the constituent unit does not make a decision on the disclosure of the research results within 90 days, or decides not to proceed with either the legal protection or the commercialization of the intellectual creation, all intellectual property rights in the disclosed intellectual creation shall automatically revert to the employee, student, or collaborator, without the need for any further procedure, decision, or agreement, irrespective of the type of intellectual property right concerned.
Where an intellectual creation has more than one creator, the rights shall revert to all creators jointly, in equal shares, unless otherwise provided in a written agreement concluded between the creators.
5. The constituent unit, or the University where responsibility for the procedure has been entrusted to it, may discontinue the legal protection or commercialization process. As of the date of such decision, all intellectual property rights and the relevant documentation shall be returned to the creator without compensation and without any claim for reimbursement of the costs incurred. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the constituent unit shall retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use the research results and any related intellectual property existing or arising in the future for non-commercial purposes, including further research and educational activities.
Where prior obligations towards third parties exist, the constituent unit may retain the right to dispose of the research results and the associated intellectual property to the extent necessary to fulfil such previously assumed obligations.
6. The constituent units may cooperate with the University in the technology transfer process, including:
- the relationship between the constituent units and the University being governed by a Technology Transfer Cooperation Agreement, which defines the scope of activities relating to the handling of research result disclosures and/or the implementation of the commercialization process.
- the participation of the University in the handling of the disclosure, including the preparation of a market potential analysis and a corresponding plan for the further development or transfer of the technology. Where the University has not previously participated in preparing such analysis, the constituent unit shall make available to the University all information generated during its internal decision-making process concerning commercialization. The University shall also be entitled to request additional commercial potential analyses and/or other preparatory activities preceding the commercialization process.
- the allocation of revenue, to be shared between the University, the constituent unit, and the creator of the intellectual creation in the ratio of 10:90. The University shall be entitled to 10%, while the constituent unit and the creator of the intellectual creation shall jointly be entitled to the remaining 90%, with the distribution between them being governed by the internal rules of the constituent unit.
- Where the intellectual creation has been created at the University, the revenue shall be distributed as follows: 60% to the creator, 20% to the organizational unit of the University in which the intellectual creation was created, and 20% to the University.
- the costs of technology transfer and commercialization, which shall, as a rule, be borne by the constituent unit, unless external sources of funding are available to cover particular costs. The costs of support provided by the University shall be reimbursed by the constituent unit in accordance with the Technology Transfer Cooperation Agreement.
- the allocation of costs and revenue where, in addition to the University or the constituent unit, a third party or another institution is also the holder of the intellectual property rights, or where the University or the constituent unit is party to a research collaboration agreement with such third party or institution. In such cases, the costs and revenue shall be allocated in accordance with the relevant agreement.
7. In the commercialization of research results, irrespective of the commercialization method employed, all agreements concluded in the course of the commercialization process shall, in every case, contain provisions ensuring:
- the protection of the interests of the constituent unit, the University, and the creator.
- wherever possible, the reservation of rights in favour of the constituent unit and the University to use the intellectual creation for future research and educational purposes.
- that the use of the intellectual creation will not be unduly restricted and that it will not be used in a manner that is unethical or unlawful.
