ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Regulatory sandbox initiatives have emerged globally as important instruments for facilitating innovation, experimentation, regulatory learning, and commercialisation of emerging technologies. While existing literature has extensively examined sandbox governance, regulatory flexibility, and innovation outcomes, limited attention has been devoted to intellectual property rights (IPR) management within sandbox environments. Regulatory sandboxes frequently involve collaborative innovation among regulators, universities, research institutions, start-ups, industry partners, investors, and technology developers, creating complex challenges relating to ownership, inventorship, licensing, confidentiality, data rights, trade secrets, and the commercialisation of intellectual assets. The absence of structured IPR management mechanisms may create legal uncertainty, discourage investment, impede technology transfer, and undermine commercialisation outcomes. Using doctrinal legal research and comparative policy analysis, this study examines intellectual property challenges associated with the regulatory sandbox and proposes an Intellectual Property Rights Management Framework (IPRMF) comprising legal, administrative, technological, and commercialisation management dimensions. The proposed framework contributes to strengthening innovation ecosystems by providing a systematic approach to managing intellectual property throughout the sandbox lifecycle while balancing innovation facilitation, regulatory objectives, and commercialisation outcomes.
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