News Releases

UWI establishes company to license the APHAMS (“PHI”) Patent

For Release Upon Receipt - September 8, 2014

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – Following the October 2013 Mediation Agreement coming out of the Percussive Harmonic Instrument (PHI) litigation matter with the inventors and the decision of the parties to transfer the ownership of the “PHI” patent (more specifically the APHAMS technology) to The UWI, PHI Innovations Limited has been established to optimise profits derived from the licensing of the patent (technology).

PHI Innovations Limited, incorporated in November 2013, is mandated to optimise profits from the licensing of the patent (technology), acting in the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago (through the State and The UWI) and the inventors. Such profits are to be equally shared in three parts amongst The UWI, the inventors and the State. The company is also mandated to enter into consultancy agreements with the inventors “to complete the design of the PHI and to assist in the manufacture and marketing of the PHI. 

On April 29 2014, an assignment agreement was signed between the inventors and The UWI as a step in the furtherance of the mediation agreement to effect the transfer of ownership of the patent technology to The UWI.  

The Board of the company is comprised of equal representation from The UWI, the inventors and the State and includes Mr. Richard Saunders (Chairman) and Mr. Sharan Chandradath Singh (as UWI representatives); Professor Brian Copeland and Mr. Keith Maynard (as the inventors’ representatives) and, Ms. Tamara Maharajh and Ms. Risha Pragg-Jaggernauth (as the State’s representatives). Ms. Lauren Boodhoo, Manager Intellectual Property in The UWI’s Office of Research Development and Knowledge Transfer is the Company Secretary. The company held its first Board Meeting on February 24, 2014 and continues to meet regularly in order to discharge its mandate.  

The parties remain committed to implementing the terms of the Mediation Agreement and realising the mandate of PHI Innovations Limited as critical steps in the right direction towards the commercialisation of the PHI. 

For further information please contact, the Office of the Campus Registrar, The UWI St. Augustine at 662 2002 ext. 82000 or 82001 or email campusreg@sta.uwi.edu  

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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