The following is a list of the articles that appear in the February 2008 issue of Technology Transfer Tactics monthly newsletter. Subscribe now and get access to this issue as well as access to our online archive of back issues, industry research reports, sample MTAs, legal opinions, sample forms and contracts, government documents and more!

Technology Transfer Tactics,
Vol. 2, No. 2 (pp 17-32) February 2008

• Patenting not always best for software, experts say. Universities are a primary breeding ground for software tools with significant commercial potential. However, there is growing recognition that factors unique to software development should, in some cases, alter the commercialization strategies used by TTOs — especially if the primary goal is to quickly disseminate the software into the hands of users ……… p. 17
• Poor record keeping opens door to forfeiture of IP rights, grant dollars. It may be as old as science itself, but the careful maintenance of a laboratory notebook is in danger of becoming a lost art, according to observers. Some, in fact, say there is an ‘epidemic’ of poor record-keeping that could lead to lost patent rights and grant dollars ……… p. 17
• Attorney develops new valuation method for early-stage IP. A patent attorney frustrated by difficulty providing specific valuation guidance to a university client decided to take the matter into his own hands. He developed a new valuation method so promising that his own university decided to patent it and make him a licensee ……… p. 18
• Streamlined processes, swift negotiations turn Rutgers TTO into a profit center. Using a strategic focus on shrewd but swift negotiations, along with simplification of the licensing process, Rutgers University’s Office of Corporate Liaison and Technology Transfer has become one of a select few TTOs showing black ink on its bottom line, turning a profit for the first time in its history ……… p. 19
• ‘First look forums’ plant seeds for investment in early-stage research. To increase your chances of finding outside funds for your early-stage technologies, it pays to plant some seeds early on and develop relationships between key researchers and investors. That’s exactly what the University of Wisconsin-Madison has done with a series of “FirstLook Forums,” which give angels and VCs a sneak peak at promising university research ……… p. 25
• Publish or protect: Anxious researchers present challenge in TTO efforts to secure IP rights. It’s a well-known challenge: Researchers so anxious to publish their work that they don’t want to wait until the university has secured a patent or proper IP protection ……… p. 26
• Think twice before launching IP-related litigation. Discovering that your organization’s valuable intellectual property is being ripped off or your license agreements are being violated is likely to bring a visceral reaction something akin to “we’ll sue their pants off.” But legal and tech transfer experts say that is rarely the best course of action, reserved only for the most egregious cases and instances where the cost of going to court — which can run $1 million a month and up to $30 million total when up against a large corporation — can be justified by the value of the IP or the flagrant nature of the infraction ……… p. 29

Write a comment