A few months ago, the IP Marketing Blog discussed the OpenUlster program at the University of Ulster in Ireland and its evaluation license. It caught my attention for its efforts to streamline licensing and help mitigate the risks that potential licensees may feel when contemplating a new technology. Here’s how the blogger described it: ‘To take out an evaluation license, which costs just one Pound, the visitor just clicks on the link to download the documents, fill out two forms and return them both to Ulster. “When the license is countersigned by one of our commercialization team, the firm has exclusivity to evaluate that technology,” says [technology commercialization manager Dr. John] MacRae… At the end of the evaluation period… the evaluation license can be converted into a full commercial license.”’ Continue reading →
Sometimes the most straightforward tech transfer situation can turn into something completely different. Sometimes the simple spin-out of a technology can morph into a larger collaborative R&D partnership. This is why Fuentek always takes a Symbiotic Innovation approach when helping our clients with technology transfer. And today’s Stories from the Field post describes just such a case. 
Innovators can often be a huge asset when you are in discussions with a potential licensee. After all, they bring more knowledge and expertise about the invention to the table than anyone else. They also often are a good source of information about potential applications and target markets. But as we at Fuentek have learned over many years of experience, one should never underestimate the strength of the connection between the innovator and his or her invention–and how that can help or hinder the commercialization process. Let’s take a look at a specific example. 
As you might have noticed from Fuentek’s news feed or on R&D Magazine‘s Web site, NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center has signed a licensing deal with 4DSP. I for one am pretty excited about this tech transfer success because Fuentek has supported Dryden in this effort. Long-time readers of our blog might remember our post about Dryden’s fiber optic shape sensors technology. But our support of Dryden didn’t begin there. We actually started off with a market-based assessment of the technology’s suite of innovations. 