Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) took part in the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law of North Sumatra and higher education institutions, along with key stakeholders across the region. The activity was held as part of the Intellectual Property Dissemination event themed “Building a Competitive and Legally Equitable University Innovation Ecosystem Based on Patents and Copyright through Strengthened Collaboration between Universities and Stakeholders” on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) at Travellers Suites Hotel, Medan.

At the event, USU was represented by Irvan, Director of the Directorate of Scientific Writing, Publication, and Publishing, who signed the Cooperation Agreement. Also in attendance from USU were Irwana Nainggolan, Intellectual Property Manager, and Amalia Meutia, Cooperation Manager.

This collaboration marks a strategic step in strengthening the protection and utilization of Intellectual Property (IP) within the higher education environment. Based on the agreement document, the cooperation between the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law of North Sumatra and USU focuses on reinforcing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, as well as enhancing the protection and utilization of Intellectual Property. The agreement also serves as a foundation for both parties to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of IP protection, ensuring that outputs from education, research, innovation, training, and community service are properly protected and optimally utilized.

The Head of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law of North Sumatra, Ignatius Mangantar Tua Silalahi, emphasized that universities play a crucial role in driving the growth of the patent ecosystem in North Sumatra. According to him, research and innovation generated within academic institutions should provide broad benefits to society.

“Universities make significant contributions to strengthening the patent sector in North Sumatra. Patents should not only serve as legal protection for an invention but must also generate broad impact, hold economic value for society, and offer solutions to real-world challenges,” he stated.

He further added that collaboration with universities is essential to strengthen literacy, awareness, and stakeholder capacity in protecting and utilizing patents and copyrights. This aligns with the objective of the dissemination event, which aims to promote Intellectual Property as a strategic instrument in knowledge-based economic development.

Meanwhile, Irvan stated that USU welcomes the signing of this Cooperation Agreement as a shared commitment to strengthening the Intellectual Property ecosystem within academia.

“For USU, Intellectual Property is a vital part of downstreaming outcomes from education, research, innovation, and community service. Through this collaboration, USU is committed to encouraging lecturers, researchers, and students to produce intellectual works, patents, and innovations that are not only academically excellent but also beneficial, economically valuable, and applicable to society and industry,” he explained.

The scope of the cooperation covers various areas, including the implementation of education, research, academic studies, preparation of academic manuscripts, community service, social innovation, dissemination of Intellectual Property information, facilitation of IP registration and assistance, promotion of IP-based products, capacity building for human resources, IP law enforcement, and the establishment and strengthening of Intellectual Property Centers.

In addition to the agreement signing, the dissemination event featured several sessions discussing topics such as economic rights protection of creative works, the role of universities in patent innovation development for commercialization and industrial application, university IP incubation, and strategies to encourage lecturers and students to produce productive intellectual works and patents.

On this occasion, USU also contributed through a presentation on “University Intellectual Property Incubation as a Strategic Instrument to Accelerate Scientific Works into Valuable and Competitive Assets”, delivered by Irwana Nainggolan.

Through this Cooperation Agreement, USU reaffirms its commitment to strengthening Intellectual Property governance as part of advancing research, innovation, publication, and community service. The collaboration with the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law of North Sumatra is expected to foster more legally protected, economically valuable inventions and creative works from the academic community, contributing significantly to regional development and public welfare.