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About Technology Transfer at CU
Characteristics of Intellectual Property Created at Universities
- Discovery seldom occurs as a single event; it takes years of research and experimentation.
- Inventions seldom occur within the context of a well defined problem; rather it is typical for faculty to develop technology "solutions" independent of market-defined needs or problems.
- Most university IP is considered "raw technology"; it is incomplete, unrefined, and years from being formulated into products or services ready for commercial markets.
- Faculty inventors optimize their research for peers and funding sources, which is typically different than commercial drivers.
- As in research where a small fraction of faculty are responsible for most funded projects, in technology licensing a small fraction of faculty are responsible for marketable inventions.
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Every US research university is involved in inventive activity and technology transfer. University inventions are translated through industry led development and commercialization processes into products and services producing health, environmental, educational and other societal benefits. The technology transfer process at CU also yields significant economic benefits for the inventor, his or her laboratory, department and campus, the University and the broader community. Licensing new technology to innovative companies also creates significant economic development benefits; the majority of CU exclusive licenses are held by Colorado companies. University IP frequently becomes the proprietary foundation of new companies – a process and outcome well understood in Colorado’s entrepreneurial, technology centric community. Furthermore, many top scholars in scientific, medical and engineering fields desire to create impact beyond the laboratory and classroom. To attract and retain such talented people CU must have a world-class technology transfer operation. For many reasons and for many stakeholders technology transfer is increasingly integrating into academic culture and becoming understood by the Colorado’s technology community.
Technology Transfer at CU is a System-level operation managed by David N. Allen, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer. Mr. Allen reports to Dan Wilkerson, Vice President and University Counsel. Although TTO is a CU System organization, the Office maintains positive relationships at all levels of Campus Administration. TTO locations in Boulder and Aurora (Anschutz Medical Campus) provide services to research investigators located at all sites of the University.
Services
The CU TTO administrative backbone provides support—IP administration, marketing and communications, policy development, legal advice, compliance, and financial management—and operational engagement with the two TTO campus locations. Specifically, TTO provides the CU research community the following services:
- Advises faculty on IP issues
- Fosters inventor participation in the technology transfer process
- Advises campus researchers about the technology transfer process through a variety of means including seminars, monthly newsletter and special events
- Solicits and analyzes invention disclosures from faculty, students, and staff
- Analyzes commercial feasibility of University IP and helps devise subsequent strategies to commercialize IP
- Prepares and manages the transfer of "tangible research property" such as biological materials
- Licenses patents and copyrights for commercial use and manages those licenses
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