Universities’ Unique IP Issues: Challenges for Technology Transfer Offices

Danielle McCulloch formerly served as a Fuentek vice president. She transitioned to our client and is now Deputy Program Manager for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program.

Summer is a great time of year to be in Minneapolis. (When I lived there, I was on that river every day with my rowing team!) And it’s particularly nice when I also get to participate in a session at the Central Region Meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM^®).

The session—Ownership in the University Setting: Do You Own What You Think You Own?—will discuss the often complex intellectual property (IP) issues that occur in the university setting.

The complexities of IP ownership at universities include:

Inventions owned by multiple individuals, including undergraduate students
Ownership of biological materials and research tools where typical IP protections (patents) are not filed
Faculty who began the technology’s development before coming to the university or who will continue their work after they have left

I will be focusing on the faculty transitions topic. Yes, this is the time of year when universities bid “farewell” and “welcome” not only to students but also to many faculty researchers. As Fuentek’s Becky Stoughton discussed here, faculty transitions from one institution to another have big implications for the technology transfer office (TTO).

I look forward to sharing the best practices and lessons that Fuentek has learned in helping our university clients improve TTO engagement with researchers and inventors.

Joining in on the discussion will be:

John Haugen, Northwestern University
Shawn Hawkins, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Gwendolyn Humphreys, Northwestern University
Paul Savereide, University of Minnesota

We will present the issues not only in theory but also with actual “war stories” and the insights gained. Our goal is to help attendees avoid legal disputes and smooth out the bumps in the road to technology transfer.

So, if you’re going to be in Minneapolis for AUTM’s Central Region Meeting, I hope you’ll join us at the session on Monday, July 9th at 1:30pm. And feel free to contact me if you would like to meet to discuss how Fuentek can support your TTO with our IP management services, our marketing and communications expertise, and our strategic solutions.

And for those who are not attending the regional meeting, keep an eye on the Fuentek blog for a forthcoming post with more details from my presentation.

Categories

Researcher Relations, Tech Transfer Industry Events and Activities