New Government IP Policy Reinforces AUT’s Approach to Research Commercialisation

The New Zealand Government has announced a new national approach to managing intellectual property (IP) arising from publicly funded research. The new framework is designed to make commercialisation more accessible, more nationally consistent, and more rewarding for researchers, and importantly, it aligns closely with how AUT already operates in this space.

What’s Changing

The new policy applies only to research funded through certain government grants and will apply from 1 July 2026. Key points of the policy are:

• Researchers will have the first right to choose how to commercialise their research, including having the IP assigned to them and doing it independently of the university.
• Researchers can still get support from their tech transfer office (i.e. AUT Ventures), who can take an equity share of “around 5–10%”. It could be higher if the university provides extra support (for example investment from the AUT Innovation Fund).
• The university will continue to initially own IP created by staff, allowing the university or tech transfer office to ensure that all the creators of the IP are properly recognised and involved.

Great News for AUT Researchers

These changes affirm the direction AUT and AUT Ventures have already been moving in. The new policy is not too dissimilar from both our established commercialisation practice and the aspirations of our  Te Kete strategy, which places researcher leadership and impact at the centre of our approach.

In addition, the national framework validates AUT’s existing practices and strengthens the environment in which your research can thrive. It gives us confidence that Te Kete’s priorities are strongly aligned with national objectives and places AUT researchers in a strong position to benefit.

Professor Mark Orams, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Deputy Chair of AUT Ventures Ltd states:  “Commercialisation opportunities are one important way we can continue to undertake research that makes a difference in the real world. Through AUT Ventures, we already support our researchers to commercialisation outcomes whereby they have a significant stake in the ownership of spin-out companies. We welcome this clarity on IP ownership from the government and look forward to continuing to support our researchers in undertaking that has impact.”

Next Steps

If you’re working on research that may have commercial potential, we encourage you to reach out to AUT Ventures at ventures@aut.ac.nz early to explore protection options and pathways to impact.

For projects with funding that begins on or after 1 July 2026, there will be new requirements as part of the contracting process. The AUT IP and Commercialisation Policy will be updated in 2026 to reflect

Learn More

📅  New IP Rules Q&A Session
Join us to unpack the new IP policy, what it means for AUT researchers, and how we’ll support you through these changes.

Thursday, 4 December at 1pm on City Campus (WG609) or join online
Register here