Technology transfer is the process of making technological advances commercially useful, sometimes for purposes not originally intended by the developers. Tech transfer typically means that intellectual property from research at universities or other nonprofit institutions is licensed for commercial use.
Tech transfer is booming, connecting public and private entities, researchers and business people, in new and exciting ways. In addition to public benefits, tech transfer results include new companies, jobs and profits, plus new income sources for researchers.
The Florida Research Consortium,
Tampa Bay Technology Forum, and
Central Florida Technology Partnership invite you to the second annual 2005
Florida Tech Transfer Conference in Orlando on May 18th and 19th, 2005.
The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center’s Office of Technology Management and Commercialization (OTMC) provides assistance in matters relating to intellectual property and technology management. OTMC identifies, protects and commercializes novel technologies that will contribute to the prevention, detection, and cure of cancer. A partial listing of technologies available for licensing is available on their website, along with licensing information.
Taking the lead in Tampa Bay tech transfer is the
University of South Florida Division of Patents and Licensing (DPL). Besides managing patents and other intellectual property developed by USF faculty and research staff, DPL analyzes USF disclosures of new technologies for commercial potential.
Small but growing rapidly, the office reported fiscal year 2003 licensing revenues of $1.2 million, three times USF-DPL's budgeted goal and 50 percent greater than the previous year. USF's 10-person patent office reported 94 invention disclosures, 178 patent applications filed, 22 patents granted, seven licenses signed, and one start-up company created in FY 2003.
Those new licenses included four generated by College of Medicine faculty, one from the College of Marine Science and two from the College of Arts and Sciences. For FY 2004, USF-DPL reported more than 100 invention disclosures. The patenting process is long, typically two to four years from initial filing until a patent is granted. But the division is committed to "moving at the speed of business," officials say.
Recent patent success stories from USF biomedical research include development of a mouse animal model for use in Alzheimer's disease drug discovery research (specifically, a "double transgenic, presenilin and amyloid precursor protein mouse"), and novel compounds used in assay kits to test cell viability.
Meanwhile, at USF's Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Program, aspiring engineers, doctors, business managers and other students are learning real-life business lessons as they work with USF-affiliated companies. The program in 2004 was ranked as the No. 1 specialty entrepreneurship program by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Program is a collaboration among USF's Center for Entrepreneurship, the USF Health Sciences Center and the Honors and Business colleges.
Apart from USF, the West Central Florida region has considerable built-in tech transfer expertise: Tampa Bay is home to one of the largest medical device manufacturing clusters in the nation with hundreds of active companies.
Besides USF, university patent offices near Tampa include the
University of Central Florida Office of Research and Commercialization and the
University of Florida Office Of Technology Licensing.
Other helpful resources include:
Association of University Technology Managers:
The Association of University Technology Managers is a nonprofit professional and educational society created to promote, support and enhance the global academic technology transfer profession through internal and external education, training and communication.
National Technology Transfer Center:
The National Technology Transfer Center is a fee-based "matchmaker." The NTTC identifies and assesses the commercial potential of clients' intellectual property assets (including many federal-developed assets) and facilitates partnerships between clients and private industry.
