Governor Paul Chepkwony (right) has called on universities to help their students patent their innovations.
Chepkwony lamented that universities are not doing enough to guard against theft of intellectual property.
"While the Government and universities provide funds for research, there is normally no provision for patenting yet returns to the country from some of these innovations can be enormous," said Prof Chepkwony, who is also the Council of Governors education committee chairman.
An innovation is anything new created by man. After identifying the novelty, the innovator should share the idea with a patent attorney. If the idea is patentable, he moves to the next step to acquire a patent.
The work of the patent attorney, who must also sign a non-disclosure agreement with an innovator, is to protect the invention and generate legal claims for the owner.
Before a patent is issued, the innovation undergoes peer reviewing by experts in the particular field who will ask questions back and forth until they are satisfied it conforms to international norms of patenting.
After acquiring a patent, the individual can begin earning royalties from a company which might be interested in commercialising it through mass production of the innovation.
Chepkwony spoke at University of Kabianga (UoK) during the launch of a conference on research and innovation.
UoK Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Planning, Research and Development Prof Marion Mutugi assured students the university will help them publish their innovations and acquire patents.
