The Borg
You know the Borg, probably the best of the Star Trek villains, and famous for their catch phrases “You must comply. You will be assimilated”. No ifs, no buts, no negotiation. You’d think that if the Borg really had assimilated the knowledge and culture of thousands of species, at least one could have added a few inter-personal skills. I think of the Borg whenever I hear someone say “You must protect your IP” to somebody trying to start a business. Usually this is offered as a piece of of unquestionable wisdom, no ifs, no buts, no negotiation.
You will have this mantra rammed into you if ever you raise your head above the parapet with the glimmer of a new business idea. For academics, the fount of science-based business ideas, this is doubly true and may well be written into contracts, along with other threatening statements about conflict of interest, which are intended to protect the University, but simply end up putting people off the whole idea. The logical consequence is that the academic should not openly publish and communicate their ideas. They should not freely collaborate with other scientists, especially those in business, at least not without all the paraphenalia of confidentiality agreements and contracts. It is easy to argue against this from a happy clappy, let’s all share for the good of science perspective, that this is not a good thing. That won’t get you far against the Borg though.
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