The strategic use of intellectual property will make it possible to acknowledge the intellectual
effort made by those generating knowledge, and to reward them, thereby stimulating them to
carry out more research and attracting others to become involved in this noble activity.
The present situation, however, does not offer these advantages, mainly because of the
following:
• The scant knowledge of IP law;
• The lack of an effective system for safeguarding IP rights arising from the fruits of scientific
research;
• Inadequate mechanisms and incentives for stimulating research;
• The flight of high-level researchers to other activities, to the detriment of the development of
scientific research;
• Poor interaction between the media and scientific and technological research institutes in the
dissemination of research results;
• Poor interaction in research processes between the repositories of local knowledge and
scientific researchers, preventing research into local phenomena and availability to help solve
major local problems;
• Insufficient linking between the different scientific research institutes and universities and
between them and the users of the products of research;
• Lack of links between research institutes and the production sector, preventing the
application of research results in the latter and restricting its capacity for innovation;
• The lack of financial resources for funding research in science, innovation and technology;
• The absence of an incentive system for research and for disseminating research findings;
• In research and higher education institutes, the dearth of highly qualified staff and the lack of
a policy on sharing the benefits resulting from the exploitation of intellectual property rights;
• The failure to appreciate and exploit intellectual property rights commercially; and
• The lack of a system for promoting and exploiting IP rights commercially, or for transferring
technology to the production sector in research institutes.
As a result of these factors there is a lack of incentives for research and, consequently, little
scientific production, or little dissemination of it. This situation would be overcome if the full