A proposed bill in the Russian State Duma could require scientists to report planned international collaborations to the government as early as this spring, according to Alexander Rumjanzew, a State Duma committee member and Academy of Sciences member. The bill aims to put an end to the uncontrolled transfer of technologies, inventions and innovative projects to foreign countries, a phenomenon that has occurred since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Rumjanzew explained that after the Soviet Union’s collapse, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Technological Policy inherited a vast patent database. The ministry then offered the database to companies and manufacturers, saying it was free for use, without proper state control, leading to intellectual property theft and many interesting discoveries being transferred abroad.
Rumjanzew emphasized that research funded by the state budget should have state patent protection. The Russian Academy of Sciences currently conducts expert reviews of all scientific plans and projects, regardless of the institutions involved, he added.
The new bill will also grant access to this database for intelligence agencies like the FSB to control the security of these projects. Rumjanzew stated that the bill will protect the state’s interests while also expanding the export of various goods and technologies to international markets.
He clarified that the bill does not aim to hinder international scientific cooperation, but rather to protect intellectual property and the progress achieved with state funding. Rumjanzew stressed that the bill will introduce a new mechanism for intellectual property protection while closing the doors that have been open since the 1990s, allowing valuable achievements to benefit the country.