[1] National IP policies express the intent of a country to use the intellectual property system in a defined manner to achieve a stated goal.
There will be circumstances where national laws limit how individual universities and research institutions can deal with IP rights or share benefits.
[citation needed] Universities and research institutions seeking to partner with industry or other organizations can adopt a policy for effective intellectual property management and technology transfer.
[2] The main goals of an institutional IP policy are to provide legal certainty, promote scientific research and technological development, encourage researchers to consider the possible opportunities for exploiting an invention to increase the potential flow of benefits to society, provide an environment that supports innovation and development, balance the various conflicting interests of universities, industry and society, and ensure compliance with applicable national laws and regulations.
[4] WIPO hosts a database of IP policies, manuals, and model agreements from Universities and Research Institutions worldwide.