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Innovation and Intellectual Property Management (IIPM) Laboratory

We are pleased to announce our new GOCIA project (Governing Climate Innovation – Africa) jointly funded by the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Strategic Impact Partnerships Fund as well as the Policy Support Fund.

GOCIA addresses the pressing need for governance solutions for African climate adaptation innovation that ensure its appropriate protection, the inclusive sharing of its benefits and its ability to attract investment. Despite a contribution to 2-4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the climate crisis and develops world-leading innovation in adapting to climate change. International climate policy and science – namely UNFCCC and IPCC – has recognized the key importance of internationally disseminating this body of knowledge but existing Intellectual Property Rights systems and trade regulations risk blocking access to and misappropriating African climate knowledge.

 

Project contact: Dr Sara Serradas O'Holleran

News & Blog articles

Newspaper article

2 June 2025

A short opinion piece by Prof. Tietze was featured in the Brussels Morning Newspaper calling for more innovation within our IPR systems to address global challenges: https://brusselsmorning.com/we-need-strong-intellectual-property-rights-for-a-sustainable-future/73186/

Thought piece: Has Innovation Broken Western Culture? Reflections on Contemporary Western Culture and Possible Innovative Ways Forward

20 May 2025

By Frank Tietze (2025) Western culture today is profoundly shaped by ongoing waves of innovation, a concept close to my heart and to which I have dedicated many years of my professional research and teaching career. Technological innovation particularly has transformed daily life, created jobs, and helped build tech...

New paper published on the Geopolitics of Battery Technologies

20 May 2025

Together with colleagues from the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Muenster, the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production (FFB) and the Helmholtz Institute Muenster (IMD-4) we have published the results of a patent study investigating the geostrategic race for leadership in...