7 May 2026, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: UHH/Esfandiari

A researcher working with a mass spectrometer

Intellectual property (IP) should be protected. The University of Hamburg is strengthening its role as an innovation-oriented and socially responsible institution of higher education—through professional IP management, targeted measures to raise IP awareness, and greater visibility of its transfer successes.

Whether patents, utility models, trademarks, designs, or copyrighted works—the careful management of intellectual property contributes to the social and economic impact of scientific work. The University of Hamburg has now adopted its first IP Strategy (PDF, in German) and simultaneously introduced new IP Guidelines (PDF, in German, accessible only from the University of Hamburg network). With this, the University of Hamburg is establishing a modern framework for managing intellectual property arising from research, teaching, and knowledge exchange, replacing previously outdated regulations.

Based on the vision “IP in the Service of Society,” the University of Hamburg aims to bring scientific findings into practical application more effectively and thereby increase their societal impact. In addition to commercial utilization, the IP strategy explicitly includes open forms of knowledge transfer such as Open Science, Open Access, Open Data, and open-source software.

IP@University of Hamburg – Utilizing Knowledge

The University of Hamburg bases its definition of intellectual property on that of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). According to this definition, intellectual property encompasses “all results of creative work in all areas of the institution for which rights can be acquired or enforced in accordance with legal provisions.” The focus here is not merely on increasing the number of intellectual property rights, but on the impact-oriented use of knowledge—for example, through collaborations with non-university partners, spin-offs, or other transfer formats.

Complementing the IP strategy, the University of Hamburg’s new IP guidelines specify the regulations governing the handling of intellectual property and the resulting potential intellectual property rights. The IP guidelines create transparency and legal certainty for employees in the area of intellectual property. Different methods of knowledge transfer can be applied flexibly depending on the project.

More information on the IP strategy and IP guidelines is available on the University of Hamburg website on intellectual property.

(This content has been translated automatically.)