From Idea to Marketplace: Industry Partners, How You and UCF Can Impact the World

October 14, 2015

Part 3 of 3-part series explaining the process of licensing technology

As an intrepid entrepreneur or investor, you’re looking for technology that can not only increase the unique value to consumers, but also for technologies that can positively impact the world we live in. At UCF, the Office of Technology Transfer is looking for visionaries like you to partner with us to bring these types of innovations to the marketplace. We know that the relationship between academia and the private sector is important for human progress. Applied knowledge is the perfect amalgam of the worlds of research and commerce.

Technology transfer, or the transfer of technology, might be new to you. It’s a relatively new phenomenon, ushered in by the Bayh-Dole Act, or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act in 1980, which outlined how inventions were to be handled that arose from federally funded research. Specifically, instead of the government owning the intellectual property, a university, small business, or a non-profit organization could own it. This landmark legislation is what allows the commercialization of university-developed technologies to proliferate as they have. Almost thirty-five years later, this has become a multi-billion dollar industry that is ripe for rewarding investments.

So, where do you begin?

Take a Look Around – Discovery

You begin right here with the Technology Locator. This is our growing portfolio of patent pending and patented technologies available for licensing. They are organized by industry sectors and subsectors. To find technology solutions for your company, you can click on the sector subgroups, or you can use the search box to look for a particular keyword, invention or inventor. For each technology you’ll find a summary of the technology’s background, technical details, benefits, and applications, as well as information on how to contact the licensing associate for more information.

Let’s Talk – Due Diligence

After you find the invention(s) that you want to learn more about, contact OTT to get the conversation started. During these preliminary conversations, a number of things may happen.

A Confidential Disclosure Agreement may be signed so you can get more disclosed information.
To learn more about the invention, you may be introduced to the inventor(s).
If you’re interested in conducting your own internal research on this technology, you may sign a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) so you can have access to samples or prototypes; or an Option Agreement to take the technology off the market while you’re evaluating it.

Coming to (mutually agreeable) Terms – Negotiation

When you have identified an invention that fits your company’s goals and are ready to license it for use, we will provide a Term Sheet detailing plans for exclusivity, field of use, grant of rights, and sublicense provisions. Every invention and every partner is unique, and so are the license agreements. When it comes to the financial concerns – royalties, license issue fees, minimums, milestone payments, equity, etc. – these terms are all customized to fit the needs of you and UCF.

The Licensing Agreement: A Sign of Our Partnership – Deal

Once we agree on the terms in the Term Sheet, a licensing agreement will be drawn up, which is also based on the legal terms of UCF’s policies. A typical licensing agreement will include items like developmental timelines, performance milestones, revenue projections, how the invention fits within your current priorities, and how you plan to bring the product to market—which is our ultimate goal.

When we agree on the terms of the agreement, then it is executed. At times, a licensing agreement is amended based on product development needs, milestones reached in the process, and other factors.

Out of the Lab and Into Consumers’ Hands – Commercialization

In order to ensure commercialization success, you will work closely with our licensing professionals, who will monitor performance and adjust milestones accordingly. Since this is UCF-owned technology, as a licensee you will be required to give us an annual report on the product development’s progress. We really want these innovations to make their way into the world to make it a better place, and we hope you can be a part of that process.

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Are you ready to enter the more than $50 billion market of commercializing university-owned technologies? Are you ready to impact the world? We’re ready, and we’re waiting to hear from you.