Ali Zuweid's Political Programme
Proposed draft law · Education, Scientific Research, Culture, Youth and Sport
Scientific Research, Innovation, Technology Transfer and Research Commercialisation Law
Executive summary
Iraq's research institutions underwent significant change following the Ninth Amendment to Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Law No. (40) of 1988, enacted through Law No. (17) of 2024, which re-established the Scientific Research Authority as a legal person with administrative and financial independence attached to the Ministry, tasked with advancing research, technological development and technology transfer and localisation. At the same time, the Ministry's central Research and Development Department continues to set research policy, support innovation, commercialise scientific outputs and manage entrepreneurial projects and incubators. Iraq thus has foundational institutions to build upon. The real legislative need is not a new authority but regulation of the research and innovation cycle, from funding to integrity and data, then technology transfer and commercialisation.
The National Education Strategy 2022–2031 confirms this direction, treating research and innovation as a distinct strategic issue and calling for research funding, centre development, commercialisation, cross-sector cooperation and intellectual property protection. Ministry practices in 2026, from technology incubators to Science Day awards, likewise show existing elements that need consistent, stable rules beyond changing administrative programmes.
The Law proposes a national competitive grants facility within the Scientific Research Authority without a new legal entity, establishing transparent calls, peer review, conflict-of-interest, disbursement and audit rules. It shifts assessment from publication counts to multiple indicators and recognises that a failed scientific hypothesis is not financial failure where work is honest and methodologically sound—an essential distinction for genuine research.
For integrity, the proposal regulates fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, fictitious authorship, investigation, whistleblower protection and correction of the scientific record. For open science, publicly funded publications must be deposited in institutional or national repositories within a reasonable period, with data management and access rules subject to privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property and security exceptions.
For technology transfer, offices receive clear functions from disclosure to assessment, protection, licensing and spin-offs. The Law regulates third-party-funded research, brief publication delays for patent protection, exclusive licences conditional on development milestones and transparent net commercialisation revenue sharing that directly incentivises innovators. It does not replace patent or general intellectual property law; it governs ownership, management and commercialisation of publicly funded institutional research results.
Financially, the proposal mandates neither a fixed GDP or budget percentage nor permanent unfunded allowances. It establishes competitive funding and multi-year planning within Budget Law allocations, allowing private and international co-financing. This is more sustainable and less vulnerable to constitutional problems encountered when higher education legislation added fiscal burdens without government approval.
Constitutional and legal context
The Iraqi Constitution guarantees education and encourages peaceful scientific research, allowing state regulation of institutions and funding in the public interest and to protect rights. Higher education and research regulation involves overlapping Ministry, university, Authority, sectoral, intellectual property and public finance powers. New legislation must respect their distribution and avoid unnecessary parallel institutions.
Law No. (17) of 2024, the Ninth Amendment to the Ministry law, reconstructed the chapter on the Scientific Research Authority, granting legal personality and administrative and financial independence, attaching it to the Ministry, defining its research, technological development and technology transfer and localisation mission, and redefining centres and resources. In 2025, the Federal Supreme Court ruled Articles (2) and (11) of the amendment unconstitutional. This does not negate the Authority's existence but underscores constitutional limits on appointments and fiscal burdens in new drafting.
Alongside the Authority, the Research and Development Department retains direct research policy, innovation, commercialisation, entrepreneurship and higher education incubator functions. Coexistence is not itself problematic with clear roles: the Authority handles national programmes, affiliated centres, competitive funding and national data consolidation; the Department handles university policy, scientific services, postgraduate procedures and university entrepreneurship. Problems arise if registration, grants, assessment and commercialisation follow duplicated independent tracks.
Patent and Industrial Designs Law No. (65) of 1970, as amended, remains the general protection framework. The Patent and Industrial Designs Directorate at the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control handles filing, examination and grants. Iraq joined the Patent Cooperation Treaty, effective for it on 30 April 2022. Research legislation therefore need not create another patent office but should regulate university, researcher and funder relationships with the existing one.
Legislative gap
Existing institutions establish who manages research but do not provide a unified public research life cycle: how grants are advertised, review conflicts prevented, scientific failure distinguished from fund misuse, data retained and released, employee inventions owned, licensing returns shared, university protection decisions timed, public-laboratory spin-offs formed, or fabrication and falsification investigated.
These gaps create inconsistent institutional practices and leave details to individual contracts or changeable administrative instructions. Traditional publication-only emphasis is insufficient: some research should be published immediately, some needs patent protection first, and some yields data, software, public policy, medical protocols or engineering solutions not measured by publication value alone.
The second gap is funding. National strategy calls for increased resources, but a rigid statutory percentage may be inflexible and conflict with budget constraints. A competitive mechanism within the existing Authority, with transparency, review and indicators, is more appropriate, leaving annual amounts to the Budget Law and a medium-term financial plan.
The third gap concerns openness and protection. Publicly funded research should benefit the public and make publications and data as accessible as possible. Premature disclosure can nevertheless destroy patent opportunities, while health, security and trade-secret data cannot be released indiscriminately. The proposal uses openness by default with reasoned exceptions and short periods to protect rights before publication.
Proposed legislative policy
- Build on existing institutions: No new authority; use the existing Scientific Research Authority, Research and Development Department and patent directorate.
- Auditable competitive funding: A facility within the Authority, public calls, independent review and recorded conflicts of interest.
- Separate quality from quantity: Do not reduce research to publication numbers or journal impact factors.
- Enforceable integrity: Clearly define fabrication, falsification and plagiarism, with independent investigations and whistleblower protection.
- Responsible open science: Make public research and data accessible while protecting privacy, intellectual property and security.
- A route from laboratory to user: Disclosure, assessment, protection, proof of concept, licensing, spin-offs and impact monitoring.
- Innovator incentives: A direct, clear share of net commercialisation revenue rather than changeable discretionary rewards.
- Protect publication rights: Permit brief patent-protection delays but not indefinite suppression of negative results by funders.
- Fiscal discipline: No fixed budget percentage or permanent commitment without lawful appropriation.
Draft law text
In the name of the people
Presidency of the Republic
Pursuant to enactment by the Council of Representatives, ratification by the President of the Republic and the Constitution, the following Law is issued:
Scientific Research, Innovation, Technology Transfer and Research Commercialisation Law
Chapter One — General provisions and national policy
Article (1) — Definitions
For this Law: First — Ministry means the federal Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Second — Authority means the Scientific Research Authority established under the applicable Ministry law. Third — Research institution means a university, college, institute, centre, authority, government department or licensed non-governmental institution conducting systematic research. Fourth — Publicly funded research means research whose cost is wholly or substantially borne by the treasury, a public institution or government grant, including designated use of public research infrastructure. Fifth — Innovation means converting knowledge, research findings or technical or organisational ideas into new or improved products, services, processes or solutions with public or economic value. Sixth — Technology transfer means transfer of knowledge, technology, rights or expertise from institutions or researchers to public or private users through licensing, collaborative research, consultancy, spin-offs or other lawful means. Seventh — Technology transfer office means an institutional professional unit handling disclosure, assessment, protection, marketing and contracting of protectable results. Eighth — Net commercialisation revenue means actual receipts after deducting documented direct legal protection, assessment, marketing and transaction costs. Ninth — Open research means making scientific outputs, data and tools accessible to the extent legally possible, respecting intellectual property, privacy, security, confidentiality and contractual obligations. Tenth — Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or other serious intentional breaches of research integrity under this Law.
Article (2) — Objectives
This Law aims to build an interconnected national research, innovation and technology transfer system; convert more university and centre knowledge into public and economic benefit; improve research quality and integrity; diversify funding; clarify cooperation between government, universities and business; protect researchers and innovators; responsibly manage publicly generated intellectual property; and connect research priorities with development, national security, health, energy, water, environment, industry, agriculture and digital transformation without subjecting all academic research to short-term applied priorities.
Article (3) — Scope
This Law applies to federally governed research institutions and government institutions in governorates not incorporated into a region; and to private universities, colleges and institutions insofar as publicly funded research, ethics, integrity, public-institution contracts or public research infrastructure use are concerned. Regional institutions participating in federal funding programmes or agreements shall be subject to grant or agreement conditions without prejudice to constitutional regional powers.
Article (4) — Governing principles
The system shall uphold academic freedom, professional independence, open competition, scientific peer review, equal opportunity, integrity, funding transparency, human and environmental protection, public-money accountability, scientific openness, non-discrimination, interdisciplinary and cross-sector cooperation, conflict avoidance and impact assessment without reducing research value to publication counts or commercial returns alone.
Article (5) — Other legislation
This Law applies alongside legislation governing the Ministry, private higher education, patents, industrial designs and undisclosed information, copyright, companies, government procurement and contracts, data protection, confidentiality, security, safety and environment. It is special legislation for publicly funded research management, commercialisation and integrity and does not alter patent grant conditions or substantive intellectual property protection except where expressly allocating institutional rights and returns.
Article (6) — National research and innovation policy
The Ministry, with the Authority, sectoral ministries, universities and business, shall prepare a five-year policy reviewed midway, covering major priorities, capacity and infrastructure, competitive funding, centre and laboratory mapping, open science, technology transfer, talent attraction and quality and impact indicators. The policy, baseline and monitoring indicators shall be public.
Article (7) — National priorities and research investment portfolios
Policy shall be translated into multi-year research portfolios, not rigid title lists, considering ministries, governorates, economy and society, long-term basic research, emerging fields, national risks and humanities and social sciences. National priorities shall not exclude high-quality investigator-led research outside them; a separate funding facility shall support it.
Article (8) — Academic freedom and scientific independence
Researchers may choose topics and methods, publish and discuss findings within law, professional ethics and lawful funding conditions. Funders or administrators shall not delete or alter findings for political or commercial reasons. Publication may be delayed for specified periods solely to protect intellectual property, legitimate trade secrets, national safety, privacy or permissible contractual obligations, with proportionate, reasoned and reviewable delays.
Chapter Two — Governance and institutions
Article (9) — Scientific Research Authority functions
Within the Ministry law, the Authority shall implement strategic national programmes, manage competitive grants, coordinate affiliated centres, develop shared infrastructure, maintain a national publicly funded project register, support application of results, conclude cooperation agreements and prepare annual national research and innovation reports. It shall not duplicate the Department's routine university functions.
Article (10) — Research and Development Department functions
The Department shall formulate and coordinate university research policies and procedures, oversee postgraduate studies, scientific affairs, entrepreneurship, incubators, associations, journals and professional development, and provide technical secretariat support for ministerially approved university programmes. It shall coordinate grants, commercialisation and the national register with the Authority, using unified platforms and procedures where possible and avoiding repeated researcher data entry.
Article (11) — Authority scientific council
Instructions under the Ministry law shall reorganise the council to include scientific representatives of sectoral ministries, universities, research centres, business, the patent body and independent experts, ensuring specialisation, diversity and freedom from conflicts. It shall approve competitive programme priorities and review and commercialisation criteria and monitor performance, without interfering in individual project review outcomes after competition begins.
Article (12) — Institutional research offices
Every public university or research institution shall establish a research and innovation unit or office supporting proposals, contracts, ethics, data, reporting and funder coordination. It may merge with a suitably skilled existing unit where duties do not conflict, preventing administrative expansion.
Article (13) — Technology transfer offices
Universities and sufficiently research-active institutions shall establish technology transfer offices or share a regional office. Offices shall receive disclosures, assess protection and application potential, coordinate with the patent directorate, prepare marketing plans, negotiate licences and collaborative research, monitor spin-offs and maintain financial and legal records.
Article (14) — Incubators, accelerators and science parks
Institutions may create incubators, accelerators or science parks where need and sustainable operating models are demonstrated, with private management participation through transparent contracts. Periodic assessment shall examine graduated ventures, external funding and products or services reaching users; space or event counts alone are insufficient success indicators.
Article (15) — Sectoral partnership councils
The Authority or universities may form research advisory councils with ministries, companies, professional associations and specialist organisations to identify researchable problems and co-fund or test solutions. Councils shall not control methods, appointments or review outcomes; membership and interests shall be disclosed.
Article (16) — National research and innovation register
The Authority shall maintain a digital publicly funded project register containing titles, summaries, institutions, funders, durations, overall budgets, implementation status, outputs, intellectual property and resulting contracts, withholding confidential, security-related and personal information. It shall prevent duplicate funding, identify gaps and measure impact without becoming an obstructive bureaucratic requirement.
Chapter Three — Competitive funding and project management
Article (17) — Grant types
As needed, funding programmes shall include open basic research, national-priority, early-career, university–industry, infrastructure, proof-of-concept and prototype, rapid crisis-response and joint international grants. Each programme shall define purpose, success criteria and risks before announcement.
Article (18) — National competitive grants facility
A national competitive grants facility shall be established within the Authority without separate legal personality, funded from research allocations, Authority resources and legally permitted gifts, grants and returns. Its accounts and procedures shall be separated from administrative expenditure. Awards, review-score summaries and selection reasons shall be published while protecting proposal confidentiality.
Article (19) — Eligibility
Researchers in public and private universities, centres and institutions may apply under programme conditions. Companies and organisations may participate in applied grants with defined contributions, rights and duties. Eligible researchers shall not be excluded because of university, governorate or legitimate scientific opinion.
Article (20) — Funding calls
Calls shall provide sufficient notice and state objectives, available budgets, project ceilings, duration, assessment criteria and weights, intellectual property and data policies, eligible costs, conflicts rules and decision dates. Material criteria shall not change after applications close except by cancelling and reopening the round where necessary.
Article (21) — Scientific peer review
Proposals shall undergo independent scientific review proportionate to grant size and risk. External institutional reviewers shall be used where possible, and international experts may review major programmes. Assessment shall address quality, method, feasibility, team capacity and impact appropriate to the research type, without imposing commercial impact on inherently basic or humanities research.
Article (22) — Review conflicts of interest
Reviewers and decision-panel members shall disclose influential professional, financial, personal or competitive relationships with applicants or projects and abstain from access or voting where material conflicts exist. Instructions shall define exclusion periods and mechanisms; recusals shall be recorded for review without publicly identifying reviewers.
Article (23) — Grant agreement
Awardees shall enter agreements defining work, instalments, outputs, reports, data, procurement, intellectual property, publication, ethics, audit, suspension, termination and recovery. Material duties shall not be added after commencement without mutual consent or a generally applicable legal reason.
Article (24) — Indirect costs
A reasonable grant percentage may cover institutional services benefiting projects, including administration, laboratories, energy, libraries and digital security, under uniform instructions and a published ceiling. Indirect costs shall not exhaust small grants or deprive teams of essential research resources.
Article (25) — Disbursement and continuity
Grants shall be paid in instalments linked to objective, measurable milestones, not publication counts alone. Later instalments may be accelerated upon early milestone completion. Negative scientific findings shall not stop funding where methods are sound and work undertaken in good faith, as negative results may have scientific value.
Article (26) — Private-sector co-financing
Companies, banks, associations or investors may wholly or partly fund projects, with contracts governing access, intellectual property, publication and confidentiality. Funders shall not suppress findings concerning public safety, fraud or serious danger, but may receive a limited review period for confidential information and rights protection.
Article (27) — International grants and cooperation
Institutions and researchers may accept international grants and partnerships under law after necessary financial and security checks. International funding alone shall not require foreign ownership of results. Data, biological material and intellectual property terms and cross-border transfers shall be reviewed before signing.
Article (28) — Research procurement
On the Ministry's and competent bodies' proposal, the Council of Ministers shall issue special research procurement regulations within government procurement and contract law, addressing sole-source materials, short-life reagents, maintenance, scientific subscriptions, cloud services and external experiments. Technical justification, documentation and competition where feasible are required; research remains subject to integrity and audit rules.
Article (29) — Equipment and infrastructure
Research equipment above values set by instructions shall be listed on a national platform showing location, capabilities, operating condition and availability. Before expensive purchases, institutions shall check reasonable alternative capacity nearby or justify duplication, except equipment requiring permanent dedicated use or special safety or confidentiality conditions.
Article (30) — Audit and fund recovery
Audits shall be risk-based and proportionate to grant size. Funds spent outside purpose or obtained through fraud, falsification or deliberate concealment of conflicts shall be recovered after due investigation. Scientific disagreement, hypothesis failure or justified delay is not itself financial misconduct.
Chapter Four — Researchers, publication quality and open science
Article (31) — Researcher rights
Researchers have rights to safe environments, fair infrastructure access, recognition of contributions, protection against retaliation, commercialisation returns, transparent funding and assessment conditions, administrative grievances and copies of their data and outputs within contractual, confidentiality and intellectual property limits.
Article (32) — Researcher duties
Researchers shall ensure accuracy, honesty and records; respect participants, intellectual property and privacy; disclose funding and interests; comply with ethics approvals; manage data; avoid fabricated or distorted findings; report serious risks; and use project funds and equipment for their designated purposes.
Article (33) — Early-career researchers and students
Programmes shall support early-career and postgraduate researchers and prohibit conditions making them nominal fronts for proposals run by others. Student rights in results, authorship and data shall be clarified in advance. Intellectual property obligations shall be proportionate to contributions, institutional resource use and project funding.
Article (34) — Iraqi scientists abroad and visiting researchers
Joint fellowships, projects, short visits and virtual laboratories may draw on Iraqi scientists abroad without requiring permanent return. Contracts shall clarify remuneration, intellectual property, data, affiliation and conflicts. Individual privileges not based on published criteria are prohibited.
Article (35) — Multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research
Universities, centres, ministries and companies may form research teams and consortia. Before spending, agreements shall define leadership, cost sharing, data, equipment, results, authorship, intellectual property and dispute resolution. One lead administrative institution may reduce paperwork.
Article (36) — Scientific publication quality
Assessment shall emphasise quality, verifiability and appropriate scientific or societal impact. Publication counts or journal impact factors alone shall not determine funding or promotion. The Ministry shall identify deceptive journals and practices and encourage reputable venues and institutional repositories.
Article (37) — Iraqi scientific journals
The Ministry and institutions shall support professional editing, digital review, persistent identifiers, archiving and international indexing of Iraqi journals, ensuring editorial independence from administration in acceptance decisions. Subsidies shall not force publication of institutional staff research or suppress critical research.
Article (38) — Open access to publications
Accepted manuscripts of wholly or substantially publicly funded research shall be deposited in institutional or national repositories no later than twelve months after publication, unless prevented by intellectual property, legitimate confidentiality, privacy, security or a pre-existing lawful contractual obligation. Researchers shall not be required to pay open-access fees not covered by funders.
Article (39) — Data management plans
Projects designated by instructions shall prepare data management plans covering collection, storage, quality, description, backup, access, sharing, preservation, destruction and responsibilities, reviewed when data nature or risks change.
Article (40) — Research data access
Publicly funded data shall be accessible where possible in reusable formats, respecting personal data, trade secrets, security, intellectual property and community and participant rights. Reasonable embargoes may permit initial analysis or legal protection, with reasoned, bounded exceptions.
Article (41) — Open science repositories and digital infrastructure
The Ministry and Authority shall link university repositories, journal platforms, project registers and databases through interoperability standards and unified research identities. Open standards, long-term preservation and portability shall be prioritised. Contracts locking the national scientific record into non-exportable closed formats are prohibited.
Chapter Five — Integrity, ethics and safety
Article (42) — Openness exceptions
Sensitive personal data, protected trade secrets, classified information, details directly enabling misuse of highly dangerous technologies, or information conflicting with intellectual property protection shall not be published. Withholding shall be minimal and periodically reassessed.
Article (43) — Research integrity
Every institution shall publish integrity policies covering prevention, training, advice, reporting, investigation and correction. Researchers, supervisors, institutions, journals and funders share responsibility within their roles. Serious scientific misconduct shall not be resolved by undocumented settlements preventing correction of the scientific record.
Article (44) — Research misconduct
Misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, deliberate meaning-altering manipulation of images or data, intentional concealment of material conflicts, appropriating or purchasing authorship, and destroying necessary data to obstruct investigations. Honest error or scientific disagreement is not itself misconduct.
Article (45) — Initial screening of reports
Institutions shall designate a reasonably independent officer or committee to receive and screen reports within a reasonable time. Reports outside competence or lacking minimum information may be closed with reasons. Reasonable suspicions require preservation of relevant data and records and referral for investigation.
Article (46) — Investigations
Expert investigators without influential interests in the parties shall form a committee. Researchers shall receive allegations and rights to respond, submit evidence and obtain representation under law. Reasoned reports shall distinguish facts from conclusions and recommend corrective and disciplinary action where breaches are established.
Article (47) — Consequences and scientific correction
Established serious misconduct may lead, within competence, to correction or retraction, repayment, proportionate grant-application restrictions and employment or criminal referral where conditions are met. Employment sanctions require the applicable law and defence and appeal safeguards.
Article (48) — Whistleblower and witness protection
Retaliation against good-faith reports of research, financial or ethical violations or cooperation with investigations is prohibited, including unjustified denial of funding, supervision, authorship or promotion, threats or administrative defamation. Protection does not exempt knowingly false malicious reporting.
Article (49) — Authorship and contribution
Authorship requires substantial scientific contribution and appropriate responsibility. Names shall not be added as favours or because of administrative authority, nor genuine contributions omitted to appropriate credit. Large-team contributions shall use a taxonomy defining each participant's role.
Article (50) — Review and scientific confidentiality
Research and proposal reviewers shall keep materials confidential, not use them for personal gain or competition, and not deliberately delay decisions to exploit ideas. Conflicts shall be disclosed and reviewers recuse themselves where impartiality is impossible.
Article (51) — Human research
Interventional research or collection of human health or sensitive data shall begin only after qualified ethics approval where warranted by its nature. Risks shall be proportionate to expected knowledge benefits, vulnerable groups protected, and compensation and injury-care procedures clear in risky studies.
Article (52) — Informed consent and privacy
Participation shall be voluntary, informed and understandable, explaining purpose, risks, benefits, alternatives, withdrawal and sample and data use. Ethics committees may waive or modify consent in permissible low-risk research without affecting fundamental rights. Data shall follow applicable protection and confidentiality law.
Article (53) — Medical and clinical research
Medical and clinical research shall meet approved professional and ethical standards, prospectively register trials designated by instructions and report serious adverse events. Safety-related clinical findings shall not be concealed on commercial ownership grounds. The Ministry shall coordinate with Health and regulators to avoid duplicate approvals.
Article (54) — Animal research
Animals shall be used only without a suitable alternative, in minimum necessary numbers, with pain reduction and improved care. Specialist committees shall review protocols. Detailed instructions shall govern species, facilities, monitoring and humane euthanasia.
Article (55) — Biosafety and dual-use research
Research involving biological, chemical or radiological agents or potentially misusable technologies requires appropriate risk assessment, containment, access, training and reporting in coordination with competent bodies. Dual-use classification shall not suppress ordinary research or punish scientific opinion; restrictions shall address specific demonstrated risks only.
Chapter Six — Intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialisation
Article (56) — Social sciences and humanities ethics
Social sciences and humanities research shall respect privacy, consent, non-harm and political or social risks to participants and communities, protecting confidential sources under law. Classroom activities and general analysis of published materials need not undergo full ethics approval absent personal data or significant risk, under risk classifications set by instructions.
Article (57) — Disclosure of protectable results
Researchers believing publicly funded results are protectable or marketable shall disclose them to the technology transfer office reasonably before public disclosure. Disclosure does not waive researcher rights; offices shall maintain confidentiality until a protection decision or expiry of the period.
Article (58) — Legal protection decision
In consultation with inventors, offices shall decide within sixty days of complete disclosure whether to fund protection, extendable once to ninety days for documented reasons. Where institutions decline protection, rights may be released to innovators under law while retaining funder rights or a non-exclusive licence needed for agreed public purposes.
Article (59) — Ownership of employment research results
Without prejudice to moral rights, registrable or exploitable economic rights vest in public research institutions where results arise directly from assigned research duties, predominantly publicly funded projects, or substantial, unusual use of institutional facilities. Researchers retain innovations outside duties and without substantial institutional funding or resources unless lawfully agreed otherwise in writing.
Article (60) — Student intellectual property
Students ordinarily own results not arising from funded contracts, group projects or exceptional resource use. Different project ownership arrangements must be disclosed in writing before work, with fair revenue shares for invention or development contributions. Graduation or degrees shall not depend on gratuitously surrendering unrelated rights.
Article (61) — Third-party funded or collaborative research
Before work begins, agreements shall define background and resulting rights, access, protection costs, publication, confidentiality, revenue sharing, equipment and materials, liability and disputes. All future rights shall not be transferred for disproportionately partial funding without assessment and institutional approval.
Article (62) — Publication review for rights protection
Contracts may allow institutions or partners up to thirty days to review manuscripts for confidential information or protection filings, with up to sixty additional days to complete filing. Review shall not alter conclusions or permanently suppress negative findings.
Article (63) — Technology transfer office powers
Within institutional authority, offices may search prior art, seek protection, commission valuations, conclude confidentiality and material-transfer agreements and model licences, negotiate with investors, monitor obligations and returns and support spin-offs. Final contracts require legally designated institutional signature and audit authority.
Article (64) — Technology assessment and marketing plans
Not every disclosure shall be patented merely to increase counts. Offices shall assess novelty, technical advantage, markets, users, further development, protection costs and regulatory risks, then choose open publication, protection, licensing, partnership, spin-off or lawful trade-secret retention.
Article (65) — Licensing principles
Licences shall have fair, documented terms reflecting value, maturity, required investment and public interest. Non-exclusive licensing is preferred where it spreads use more widely; exclusivity is permissible where needed for development investment, regulatory approval or market entry.
Article (66) — Exclusive licensing
Exclusive licences shall define territory, field, duration, measurable development and marketing milestones and institutional rights to terminate or convert exclusivity following non-performance, notice and a reasonable cure period. Exclusivity shall not exceed commercial necessity.
Article (67) — Public rights in government-funded results
For predominantly publicly funded rights owned by public institutions, the State retains a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence for non-commercial government purposes, with reasonable compensation for specific costs where appropriate. Serious health, security or environmental emergencies may invoke relevant compulsory licensing or public-benefit laws; this provision does not replace them.
Article (68) — Research spin-offs
Researchers may establish companies based on institutional technology or knowledge after licensing or rights-transfer agreements defining ownership, returns and duties. Where financial and state-asset rules allow, institutions may accept non-controlling equity instead of part of the cash consideration following independent valuation and competent approval.
Article (69) — Spin-off conflicts of interest
Researchers holding interests in companies contracting with their institutions shall disclose and abstain from decisions involving them. Academic authority shall not compel students or staff to work for companies without contracts and consent. Institutions shall manage time, laboratories, data, procurement and related-party transactions through a plan.
Article (70) — Commercialisation revenue sharing
Unless specific law grants innovators a better share, net revenue from public-institution rights shall be distributed: forty per cent collectively to innovators, twenty per cent to the originating unit or laboratory for research, and forty per cent to the institution for research, innovation and technology transfer. Innovator shares follow a written contribution agreement; otherwise they are equal unless established otherwise by an appealable decision.
Article (71) — Inventor support and protection costs
Institutions retaining rights shall bear reasonable protection and marketing costs. Only documented direct expenses included in net-revenue calculations may be deducted from inventors' share. Researchers shall not be required to finance patents from salaries to retain revenue entitlements.
Article (72) — Proof of concept and prototypes
A funding facility shall bridge discovery and product through engineering tests, clinical or industrial validation, prototypes and regulatory and market feasibility studies. Funding shall follow technology-risk milestones without requiring sales before readiness.
Article (73) — Research and consultancy services
Laboratories and centres may provide paid tests, consultancy and research under published pricing and conflict policies, with revenues deposited and distributed under financial laws and instructions. Commercial services shall not displace core academic duties or use publicly funded equipment for private benefit without fair payment.
Article (74) — Material transfer agreements
Samples, strains, research materials, models or unpublished databases shall not be transferred externally without agreements defining ownership, permitted uses, derivatives, confidentiality, publication, return or destruction and safety, respecting health, environmental, security and customs requirements.
Article (75) — Cross-border technology transfer
Overseas licensing and transfers of materials, data or knowledge shall be reviewed for state and funder rights, privacy, security, intellectual property obligations, taxation and financial transfers. Transfers shall not be blocked merely for being international where lawful, beneficial to science or the economy and protective of Iraqi rights.
Chapter Seven — Measurement, transition and final provisions
Article (76) — Commercialisation accounting
Institutions shall keep separate records for each intellectual asset, including protection costs, contracts, amounts due and received and distributions, subject to statutory internal and external audit. Annual aggregate disclosures, protection applications, licences, companies and revenues shall be published without trade-secret disclosure.
Article (77) — Performance indicators
Assessment shall balance publication quality, open data, cooperation, public problem-solving, training, valuable patents, licences, sustainable companies, informed public policies, citations, shared infrastructure, private and international funding and geographic and subject distribution. A single institutional ranking shall not replace multi-indicator analysis.
Article (78) — Annual national report
The Authority and Department shall annually report public research funding, sources and distribution, competitions and projects, result quality, international and sectoral cooperation, infrastructure, innovation, commercialisation, integrity and open science. Reports shall go to the Council of Representatives and Council of Ministers and be public.
Article (79) — Research and innovation indicators platform
The Ministry shall establish a public platform of aggregate indicators and non-confidential data using common researcher, institution and project identifiers. Institutions and researchers may seek correction before data inform funding or institutional assessment.
Article (80) — Centre and programme evaluation
Major centres and programmes shall undergo external evaluation at intervals not exceeding five years, assessing need, excellence, resource use, cooperation and impact. Following evaluation and hearing the entity, centres or programmes may merge, be redirected or closed, protecting staff rights under service laws.
Article (81) — Preventing institutional duplication
No new authority, department or platform shall duplicate existing functions without competence, data and cost analysis. Within one year of commencement, the Ministry shall review overlaps among the Authority, Department and university units and propose clear duties, focusing the Authority on national programmes and affiliated centres and the Department on university policy and central scientific services.
Article (82) — Existing rights and contracts
Existing grants, contracts, licences and intellectual property rights remain valid until expiry unless parties agree alignment. Mandatory integrity, ethics and safety rules apply to ongoing work from commencement as far as possible without impairing acquired rights.
Article (83) — Institutional intellectual property policy alignment
Within one year, every public university and research institution shall issue or update intellectual property and transfer policies covering at least disclosure, ownership, returns, students, sponsored research, software, data, spin-offs and conflicts. The Ministry shall provide a national model consistent with applicable intellectual property law and international standards.
Article (84) — Regulations and instructions
The Council of Ministers shall issue implementing regulations on the Minister's and competent bodies' proposal. Within one year of publication, the Minister shall issue instructions on grants, review, integrity, ethics, open science, technology transfer, reporting and the national register.
Article (85) — Conflicting provisions
Conflicting regulations, instructions and decisions shall be repealed or amended when replacements take effect. Other provisions of the Ministry law, Scientific Research Authority law and intellectual property legislation remain effective insofar as compatible. This shall not abolish the Authority or create a replacement.
Reasons for enactment
To develop research and innovation law; regulate public research funding competitively and transparently; strengthen integrity, ethics and open science; define researcher, student and institutional rights; connect results to society and the economy through professional transfer, licensing and spin-offs; regulate revenue sharing; and integrate Authority, Department, university and intellectual property responsibilities without parallel bodies, this Law is enacted.
General explanatory memorandum
1. Why a separate law after establishing the Authority?
The Ministry law establishes the Authority, objectives, centres and resources but does not detail competitive grants, integrity, open science, institutional ownership, revenue sharing, licensing, spin-offs or data. The existing Authority makes implementation easier: the Law supplies clear tools rather than starting from zero.
2. Why not an independent fund?
A separately incorporated fund with new administration and staff adds cost and overlap. The proposal instead creates a national competitive grants facility within the Authority with separate accounts, allowing annual budget adjustments without legislative amendment and lawful external grants and revenues to support programmes.
3. Why no fixed budget share?
Fixed percentages are politically attractive but do not ensure spending quality and may create commitments unsuited to budget cycles. The 2025 federal ruling on parts of the Ministry amendment highlighted the sensitivity of additional legislative fiscal burdens. The proposal favours multi-year funding and clear competitions, leaving annual amounts to the budget rather than a fixed statutory slogan.
4. Who owns a public-employment invention?
The proposal distinguishes employment-related or predominantly publicly funded inventions from independent innovation. In the former, institutions receive economic rights while inventors retain attribution, moral rights and revenue shares; in the latter, researchers retain ownership. This prevents both institutional appropriation of every employee idea and privatisation of publicly funded results without institutional return.
5. Why a 40% innovator share?
A fixed share removes unequal institutional bargaining and makes commercialisation a predictable incentive. After direct protection and marketing costs, innovators collectively receive 40%, the originating unit 20% to support the environment producing the technology, and the institution 40% for research and innovation. This measurable statutory rule does not affect patent conditions or inventor recognition.
6. Why a short publication review period?
Universities must balance publication rights and patent protection. Thirty review days plus sixty additional filing days give offices practical protection time without turning commercial confidentiality into indefinite publication bans or suppression of negative findings.
7. Open science does not mean publishing everything
Public research is accessible by default, except personal data, trade secrets, classified information, highly sensitive technologies and rights under protection. Withholding should be reasoned and bounded rather than public data remaining automatically closed.
8. Scientific failure is not financial misconduct
Research is uncertain; a good experiment may refute a hypothesis. Punishing negative results encourages safe topics or exaggerated findings. Recovery therefore depends on fraud, misuse or deliberate concealment, not failure to achieve expected results.
Institutional map after enactment
| Body | Principal role | What it should not duplicate |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Higher Education | National policy, regulations, instructions and government coordination | Centralised management of every grant or licence |
| Scientific Research Authority | National programmes, affiliated centres, competitive grants, national register and annual report | Postgraduate administration and routine university details |
| Research and Development Department | University research policies, postgraduate studies, entrepreneurship, incubators, journals and scientific affairs | A separate national grant platform outside the Authority |
| University/institution | Project, ethics, data, contract and internal research management | Intellectual property rules contradicting national law |
| Technology transfer office | Disclosure, assessment, protection, marketing, licensing and spin-offs | The national patent office's functions |
| Patent and Industrial Designs Directorate | Filing, examination, grants and national industrial property registers | University revenue management or selection of commercial projects |
Competitive funding framework
The main shift is from some non-competitive administrative allocation towards published programmes with different objectives. Basic research needs different criteria from industrial projects; small early-career grants should not bear the same administrative load as major national centres.
| Programme | Dominant criterion | Expected output |
|---|---|---|
| Open basic research | Originality, method and team capability | Verifiable knowledge and publications, data or tools |
| National priority | Quality + problem relevance + user partner | Applicable solution, policy or model |
| Early-career researcher | Potential and career development plan | Scientific independence and an initial laboratory or team |
| University–industry | Technical contribution and joint commitment | Prototype, process or new service |
| Proof of concept | Reducing technical and market risks | Technology ready for licensing or investment |
| Research infrastructure | National need and shared use | Laboratory or platform serving multiple teams and institutions |
Technology transfer and commercialisation framework
The proposal separates protection from commercialisation. Patents are not ends in themselves: open publication may best serve some research, non-exclusive multi-company licences other research, while expensive technologies may require an exclusive development investor. Sound decisions begin with potential use, not patent counts.
- Researcher disclosure of protectable results.
- Assessment of novelty, technical and market value and public need.
- A timely decision on protection or open publication.
- Proof-of-concept funding where a laboratory-to-market gap exists.
- Select a strategy: licensing, collaborative research, spin-off, research service or open access.
- Negotiate contracts with performance milestones and public-interest safeguards.
- Collect and distribute returns in an auditable manner.
- Monitor exploitation and impact and end exclusivity for non-performance.
An important rule: The Law does not turn every research project into a business. Universities also produce basic knowledge, public rights, policy and culture. Technology transfer is a route for applicable results, not the sole measure of university value.
Alignment with existing legislation
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Law No. (40) of 1988, as amended: Remains the basis for the Ministry, universities and Authority. The proposal uses rather than re-establishes the Authority. Leadership issues affected by the 2025 federal ruling remain governed by valid provisions pending separate constitutionally compliant legislation.
Patent and Industrial Designs Law No. (65) of 1970, as amended: Remains authoritative for protection, filing, examination, grant and duration. The proposal governs institutional rights management, disclosure and revenue distribution without a parallel patent office.
University service, public service and disciplinary laws: Remain authoritative for employment sanctions. Integrity committees establish scientific facts and recommend correction; employment penalties follow the relevant law.
Companies, investment and public finance laws: Apply to spin-offs, institutional equity and revenue investment. This Law does not grant financial powers prohibited elsewhere without required approvals.
Data protection, confidentiality and cybersecurity law: Upon adoption or commencement, governs research data processing. Open science does not override personal privacy or sensitive infrastructure protection.
Transitional provisions and implementation requirements
Implementation begins with harmonised rules, not wholesale restructuring. The Authority, Department, university offices and centres already operate. The first year requires division of functions, launch of the national register and common grant, disclosure, intellectual property and integrity templates.
- Months 0–6: Prepare foundational regulations, establish platform-harmonisation teams and approve model grant agreements and disclosure policies.
- Months 6–12: Launch initial competitive rounds, issue the national intellectual property policy model and train technology transfer offices.
- Second year: Complete and connect the national register, approve research and data repositories and implement annual reporting.
- Third year: Externally evaluate grants, transfer offices and incubators and consolidate duplicate programmes and platforms.
- After five years: Review legislative impact, funding, revenue sharing and security and data exceptions.
Financial and implementation impact
Published data alone cannot support a reliable national cost because the Law reorganises existing expenditure and adds functions whose costs depend on annual allocations. The proposal therefore provides a costing methodology rather than a falsely precise figure.
| Item | Nature | Proposed control |
|---|---|---|
| Research grants | Varies annually | Set through budgets and funding plans, not a fixed statutory percentage |
| Register and platform | Establishment and operation | Integrate existing systems and avoid duplicate platforms |
| Technology transfer offices | Limited staffing/training | Shared regional offices for smaller institutions |
| Patent protection | Case-specific | Protect viable results rather than every disclosure |
| Proof of concept | Competitive and high-risk | Milestone funding discontinued if technology fails its gates |
| Revenue sharing | From realised receipts | No budget burden; distribution from net revenue once received |
Constitutional and financial rule: Announcing a research programme does not itself create a permanent treasury obligation. Competition begins after lawful appropriation or grant availability, with amounts announced before applications. Programmes can thus expand with resources or contract without suspending legislation.
Useful international references
WIPO: The organisation's tools show effective technology transfer beginning with disclosure, rights assessment, protection, development, marketing strategy, negotiation and monitoring. Institutional intellectual property policy should regulate ownership, disclosure, revenue sharing, conflicts and spin-offs. The proposal adopts this approach while retaining the Iraqi patent office as national registrar.
UNESCO Open Science: The international framework balances access to knowledge, data and open infrastructure with diverse national laws. The proposal therefore uses public access with justified privacy, intellectual property and security exceptions rather than an 'everything open' rule.
OECD research data framework: This supports moving from merely publishing files to data governance: responsibility, ownership, technical standards, sustainable infrastructure, incentives, skills and international cooperation, reflected in data plans, repositories and interoperability.
PCT: Iraq's Patent Cooperation Treaty membership since 2022 gives Iraqi innovators an international protection route. Transfer offices therefore need early protection decisions before publication where technology has value beyond domestic markets.
Sources and references
- Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, 2005 — Iraqi Council of Representatives
Constitutional basis for education, scientific research and general powers, rights and freedoms.
https://iq.parliament.iq/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A/ - Ministry of Justice — Iraqi Official Gazette issue 4785, Law No. (17) of 2024
Ninth Amendment to the Ministry law, including the Authority's modern formulation, objectives, centres and resources.
https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.8306/ - Ministry of Justice — Iraqi Official Gazette issue 4838, Federal Supreme Court decision 207/Federal/2024
Records the 19 August 2025 ruling finding Articles (2) and (11) of Law No. 17 of 2024 unconstitutional, an important constraint on new institutional or financial amendments.
https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.9690/ - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research — Research and Development Department
Describes current research policy, innovation, commercialisation, entrepreneurship, higher education incubator and Authority secretariat functions.
https://mohesr.gov.iq/ar/ministrySection/49 - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research — Scientific Research Authority
Documents the Authority's existence and activity in 2026 and its continuing centres and research outputs.
https://www.mohesr.gov.iq/ar/homeNews/newsTerm/58 - National Education Strategy in Iraq 2022–2031
Treats research and innovation strategically, with funding, commercialisation, centre development, intellectual property and scientist attraction programmes.
https://dirasat.mohesr.gov.iq/assets/documents/files/National-Strategy-Education.pdf - Ministry of Higher Education — Technology incubator opening at Middle Technical University, 13 April 2026
A recent example of incubator and innovation policy linking academia with employment and the knowledge economy.
https://mohesr.gov.iq/ar/post/%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85-%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%86%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B6-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B8%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%81-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%89-2026-04-13-15 - Ministry of Higher Education — Iraqi Science Day Awards 2025, announcement dated 23 August 2026
Describes existing research, project, centre and scientific-unit incentives.
https://mohesr.gov.iq/ar/post/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D8%A5%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B2-%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%AF-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AD-2026-08-23-16 - Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control — Patent and Industrial Designs Directorate
National body for patent and industrial design procedures, filing, publication and databases.
https://www.cosqc.gov.iq/service/patent - Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control — Patent statistics for June 2026
Recent data confirming filing, examination, grants and institutional industrial property service development.
https://www.cosqc.gov.iq/news/detail/63 - WIPO Lex — Iraqi Patent and Industrial Designs Law No. 65 of 1970, as amended
Reference for existing patents, industrial designs, undisclosed information and related amendments.
https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/ar/legislation/details/10343 - WIPO — Iraq's accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Effective for Iraq on 30 April 2022, opening international filing routes to Iraqi inventors.
https://www.wipo.int/ar/web/pct-system/w/news/2022/news_0006 - WIPO – Knowledge and Technology Transfer
Reference for knowledge and technology transfer stages from disclosure, assessment and protection to development, licensing, spin-offs and impact monitoring.
https://www.wipo.int/en/web/technology-transfer - WIPO – IP Policies for Universities and Research Institutions
Explains institutional intellectual property policy components: ownership, disclosure, protection, marketing, revenue sharing, conflicts and spin-offs.
https://www.wipo.int/en/web/technology-transfer/ip-policies - UNESCO – Recommendation on Open Science (2021)
International open science framework for knowledge access, open infrastructure, capacity and cooperation, respecting national laws, rights and differences.
https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-open-science?hub=66535 - OECD – Access to research data from public funding toolkit
Modern framework for public research data governance and access, with accountability, technical standards, sustainable infrastructure, incentives and protection.
https://www.oecd.org/en/toolkits/access-to-research-data-from-public-funding-toolkit.html
The draft establishes current legal and institutional context from legislation, the Iraqi Official Gazette, Higher Education Ministry and Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control. WIPO, UNESCO and OECD references inform transfer, open science and data rules rather than replacing Iraqi law.