Intellectual Property, also known as IP, is any intangible asset consisting of knowledge and ideas. Like any form of physical property, IP is owned, and it can be bought and sold. It can also be rented out through a process of licensing that can result in significant commercial and financial benefits for individuals, research groups and the organisations employing them. MTU and the research it generates is obliged to meet the requirements of the National IP Protocol (Ireland's framework for research commercialisation) as well as the MTU IP Policy. This talk summarised the key requirements of these policies as well as the importance of keeping a good lab notebook.

"Will you or your students be involved in research during your/their time in MTU? Do your funders require you to make your research outputs available through Open Access? Are you planning to publish articles, conference papers, monographs, book chapters or any related datasets? Are you creating reports, entries for conference proceedings or posters? Will you be hosting a conference in the coming year? Do you have a journal that needs an online home? If the answer is yes to any of the above, then you really should watch the recording and view the resources below. The aim of SWORD is to collect, disseminate and preserve all of MTU’s research under one roof. By doing this SWORD can enhance the impact of your research and broaden the scope of the research activities for you and your departments. Those who attending this session learned: What SWORD is and what it does What types of research and scholarly work are suitable for SWORD How SWORD can host conferences and journals Why you should deposit research in SWORD How to deposit your work in SWORD"