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The British government this week faced a barrage of criticism over its
plans to privatise the British Technology Group, an agency that helps academics
to make money from their ideas through licences and inventions.

Speaker after speaker in a House of Lords debate claimed that the privatisation
bill is too lax to ensure that the BTG retains the ‘integrity, independence
and impartiality’ required to foster research with long rather than short-term
prospects of making money. As a result, scientists would lose confidence
in the BTG.

‘Some universities have already made internal arrangements to develop
their own intellectual property,’ said Lord Flowers, ‘and other universities
will do likewise.’

Flowers warned that ‘a rival BTG will develop within the research community
itself, and it will attract away the business and the staff of the BTG.
That would be a shameful waste (of the BTG’s resources).’

The timetable for legislation has already slipped to October this year.