FAQ INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A: There are many factors to consider when assessing the commercial potential of an invention, but the most important one is that your invention addresses an unmet need. Once a need is identified, it is time to do some research. First, is important to understand whether you can protect your invention with all relevant intellectual property rights and to make sure that you are not infringing others. Second, you should analyze the market space that you are targeting, its size, complexity, future expectations and competitors to get a sense of the requirements for succeeding. Third, you will have to consider the maturity level of your invention as well as the time and efforts needed to take it to market. This is important because eventually, investors wants to understand the total investment required and when a return can be expected. Fourth, you need to have a team of people that can support the commercialization process to increase probability of success, covering different disciplines like business, drug development, entrepreneurship etc. However, each invention is unique and so it is the assessment of its commercial potential. You can find a template that might be helpful to fill out as part of the assessment here. As you may expect, making a commercial assessment requires quite some time and work; but no worries, you are not alone, we are here to help you.
A: Regarded for many as “the dark side”, commercialization of research is the only way to ensure that your discoveries and inventions have an impact in Society. It allows the application of great ideas in the shape of new products and services with the potential to benefit others. Revenues from commercialization of your research can generate more funding for basic research for both your group and University. Moreover, being a successful inventor is a great addition to your researcher profile, which could facilitate the attraction of even more funding from a large variety of sources and facilitate external collaborations. Overall, commercialization can give you more resources and independence to continue conducting your own research, have a real impact, and explore new and exciting professional paths.
A: Although, the idea to commercialize your research should be taken into consideration in early ideation stages, the commercialization process officially starts with an invention disclosure, a document that briefly describes how the results of your research could be applied in the shape of a new invention. This document is sent by the researchers to UCPH’s Tech Transfer Office who will assess your invention and decide whether the University wishes to claim its rights or not. This decision takes two factors into account: the commercial potential of the invention and the possibility to protect it with the relevant intellectual property rights. If the Tech Transfer Office considers that the commercial potential is too small or, more often, is unable to protect you invention with a patent, they will not claim the rights to your invention. In this situation, the rights of the invention will be transferred back to the researcher that disclosed it. However, if the Tech Transfer Office sees a clear potential in the invention and believes that it is patentable, it will claim its rights and proceed with the preparation of a patent application in order to protect your invention. Once the patent is filed and granted, the Tech Transfer Office will seek to commercialize your invention. There are many ways to commercialize your invention. However, the most common one is through licensing agreements to either already existing companies or new ones, which can originate from the University itself (the so-called spinouts). You can find more information in this guide from the Tech Transfer Office.
A: Yes! In fact, there are plenty of people eager to support you. We, at The Pipeline, which also includes Open Entrepreneurship, are ready to support you at any time. We do so in close collaboration with Research Support and the Tech Transfer Office.
A: The sooner you contact us, the better. Early engagement can help shaping the development of your research as well as the business development activities connected to it. Even at the ideation phase, it might be helpful to start considering the commercial potential and you are more than welcome to contact us by sending an e-mail to Nadia Storm or directly to one of our Business Unit manager by following the link here.
Q: Who can use your services?
A: Researchers at all levels (from PhD students to Professors) working at – or affiliated with – SUND.
Q: Do I need to pay anything for your services?
A: All our services are free of charge for all researchers at SUND.
Q: Do you offer any funding?
A: Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any funding to researchers at the moment. However, we will make sure to direct you to all relevant funding sources and assist you in the application process. In the meantime, you can find many funding sources here specifically for research projects with clear commercial potential.