New Tools Designed to Help Smooth the Pathto Marketplace for Inventors and Their Work

The UT Dallas Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) has unveiled a new Web site that promises to facilitate the process of invention disclosure and evaluation and the transfer of commercially viable innovations from the lab to the marketplace.

The site reflects a new era in which technology commercialization at UT Dallas has come to the forefront of University initiatives.

Robert Robb

“The recent expansion of UT Dallas’ technology commercialization activities, via the formation of the new OTC in April 2008, means that the university offers more technology commercialization resources to its researchers, new opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors, and a flexible, entrepreneurial, business-savvy orientation that industry and UTD inventors should find attractive,” said Robert Robb, associate vice president for technology commercialization.

“The new Web site provides an ongoing means to communicate general information about OTC philosophies, processes and resources with all of our stakeholders,” Robb said. “In addition, frequent updates will highlight UT Dallas inventors, inventions, startups and licenses. Over time, the site will be a centralized repository for commercialization information and activities across the university.”

The website includes:

• A primer on intellectual property, including frequently asked questions.
• A Guide to Commercial Readiness of UT Dallas Inventions.
• An invention evaluation criteria form.
• A summary of relevant university policies relating to intellectual property and technology transfer.

“The new Web site provides the information that I was not sure about during my patent applications,” said Dr. Jung-Mo Ahn, assistant professor of chemistry. “The materials are very thorough, and I think the site would be helpful to someone thinking about filing a patent and forming a startup venture.”

A description of the process the OTC uses to evaluate and commercialize inventions is available along with the newly redesigned invention disclosure form, links to external resources and information about university startup companies for inventors interested in learning more about how to launch a new venture.

“The Web site offers three key benefits,” Robb said. “It provides the researchers with decision making tools researchers can use when considering whether to commercialize. The site also provides resources to UT Dallas inventors for expediting the disclosure and evaluation of new inventions. In addition, the site helps showcase new inventions and commercialization successes of our university in order to help draw attention and facilitate interaction with prospective investors, licensors or other stakeholders.”

On the horizon, Robb says the OTC Web site will include more summaries of the technologies available for licensing and possibly an online invention disclosure

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