Is your new year’s resolution to better keep up with the latest in the technology transfer industry? Then consider this blog post a helping hand. And if you have opinions about these tech transfer “good reads” or fav articles/blogs of your own, share them by posting a comment below or sending me a private message.

Obviously we’re too close to Christmas for you to do so for this year (unless you’re a world-class procrastinator), but we at Fuentek wanted to take this day to remind our blog readers that LEGOs® are the perfect gift for any child… or playful adult. There’s a wide variety in terms of cost and level of difficulty, and no matter their interest, LEGO can match it. As a child, I loved playing with LEGOs. And I still do. I’m particularly fond of free-building (though when I was a kid, it was just plain old “building”) because of the creativity it allows, as compared to the kits with specified designs. Of course, the predefined sets are a…

I know lots of people are talking about the fiscal cliff. (Heck, I’ve been talking about it myself.) But as we head into this last month before we hit it (or not), my frustration is reaching a pinnacle. So brace yourself for a rant, albeit with a holiday spin. All I want for Christmas is for members of Congress to figure out how to work together and compromise. The sad thing is, this has been a Christmas wish for the past, oh, 15 years. (Santa? Santa, are you there?) Congress has not passed a budget in a timely manner since 1997. In fact, the last budget they passed at all was in April 2009. Worse than…

Over the holiday weekend, I caught up on some interesting technology transfer articles, papers, and blogs. Today, I share them with you. Bayh-Dole Supporting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Released by the Association of University Technology Managers® (AUTM®) and published on IPWatchdog.com®, this article provides preliminary data on a survey of nearly 100 academic institutions worldwide regarding their “acceptance and encouragement of students in the economic development of their ideas.” Well more than two-thirds reported that they provide a variety of programs and resources to help support student innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization. A single example of such a program was…

I gave two presentations at the Technology Transfer Integrated Planning Team of the Department of Defense (DoD) that I think our readers will find of interest. One focused on the Global Technology Portal (GTP) launched earlier this year by AUTM®, while in the other I discussed using social media to enhance tech transfer. The info and insights I’m sharing today definitely caught the attention of the DoD tech transfer professionals.

Today we have a special Halloween edition of our monthly “Worth Reading” post. In addition to our usual supply of news items and blogs related to technology transfer, Fuentek is spotlighting costumes related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics and professions. Consider them for your kids (or yourself!) next year.

I read with interest two recent news stories about technology transfer offices (TTOs) looking to increase licensing deals by addressing two oft-cited barriers: high costs and long negotiation times. The logic: Offering intellectual property (IP) at a super low cost (or even for free) and/or through non-negotiation, ready-to-sign license agreements will result in more technologies getting to market faster. These types of programs have been around for a bit (see my prior posts about free IP and ready-to-sign licenses) and the trend seems to be growing. So let’s look at the two recent examples and consider how to make these types of programs successful.

It’s time for another post about articles and other tidbits we’ve read that we think you should read too. Feel free to share your thoughts about these items or tell us about your favorite tech transfer stories. Post a comment below or email us via our Contact Us page.

This summer, the technology transfer office (TTO) at Vanderbilt University conducted an informal survey of members of the AUTM® directors online discussion group on TTO policies and practices regarding returning rights to inventors. I found the results from the 84 respondents intriguing, as should advocates for free agency in tech transfer (including sponsors of the current Startup Act legislation). That’s because this survey showed that the essence of free agency — that is, giving innovators the right to pursue commercialization of their technology — is already in place… and the innovators are not pursuing it. Let’s look at the data.

The mechanisms that technology transfer offices (TTOs) use to market technologies should vary depending on the technology and licensing prospects, as well as the time and resources you have allotted to the effort. Nowadays, a wealth of marketing tools is available. Fuentek typically recommends mixing and matching a combination of mechanisms to reach a target audience and market technologies successfully. For starters,…