OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The prime objective of intellectual property is to encourage the creation of ideas that are valued and have them well protected. They are categorized into four; Copyright authenticates the author to reproduce any task that is copyrighted. Copyright is presented in two ways either published or unpublished, for example, musical, computer programs, original literary, artistic words or dramatic. It protects the expression of ideas but secludes the ideas. Secondly, a trade secret is defined as the idea to cover secret and sensitive information and its protection and its treatment. It is a vital tool for competition as the original owner has an appealing advantage in the vast market. The prime owner is mandated with protecting the trade secret from being learned by competitors. The government agency provides no registration to trade secrets, unlike trademarks, copyrights, and patents.
Thirdly, a brand refers to a logo, slogan, word, symbol, or design that gives a unique identification of a product or service. The government agency has a mechanism of legal registration, and it protects corporate identity. Lastly, the patent gives innovative people and those possessing the right to inventions with protection from the public and competitors for a specified time from production, usage, and commercial purposes. They are granted for the composition of matter, articles of manufacture, method processes and machines.
Each university provides different ownership policies concerning intellectual property and the rights bestowed to the inventor. The plans differ uniquely, and various steps are undertaken, the technology transfer office discusses the mandate one must fulfil and multiple services available. The following refers to technology transfer offices open at Ontario universities. Policies of standard research funding organizations, which states that any funding received at the time of research and development of technology. It is implicated in responsibilities and commitments to the organization that provided the grant for the analysis. Below is the general policy of various major funding organizations, such as OCE, CIHR, NCE, CFI, NSERC, SSHRC, and ORDCF. It provides a clear overview of general policies and its accuracy at the time this document was published. For more clarification of specific circumstances, they are open to being contacted.
The policy of implications of collaborative research states that any individual who participated in the development of the technology has commitment and responsibility. Participants have the right to validly claim co-inventorship and seek a share in the financial advantage through commercialization. They include the following; supervising professor, group of helping students, visiting researchers from other institutions, and numerous grants and gifts from companies.
A list of participators for the development of the research should be extracted for clarification. Major participants should have a mutual agreement to guide on the share of financial benefit on the commercialization of the study. Through successful marketing of the proper research determination of intellectual property ownership. Legal advice should be consulted, and it can be done through specific university transfer technology or independently.
The commercialization process, over $100 million is spent annually on research by universities, colleges, and hospitals—students at the university due to the advantage of popularization of their theses globally. The primary objective of the university is the global popularization of the research. The process of commercialization tends to differ in many universities but have reference to basic requirements as follows. These are the potential personal benefits of the marketing of the research
. It includes the practical application of the analysis in developing products and projects the task’s recognition. Close collaboration with company partners leads to financial sponsorship of additional research. The partnership has numerous advantages, such as gaining valuable experiences, building a future career, and financial support to students. The individual stands a chance of monetary compensation in the form of royalty, equity, and license fees.
The university stands a chance of benefitting from the commercialization of research, and it ensures the public benefits from university research. It has a mandate of developing long-lasting industry relationships and generates revenue for the institution. It attracts research sponsors through meeting its research obligation and enhancing the university research environment. The vital step is the submission of the confidential invention disclosure form starts with working on the commercialization of the technology. Its details include the invention, inventors, source of fund, any key candidate for licensing, and what is published and unpublished is. The firm provides a comprehensive and logical sequence of questions and processes of answering questions essential in the commercialization of the research.
The invention to be disclosed varies in different universities, similar to disclosure policy. The technology should meet the following criteria: non-teaching, proprietary information, and research tools. This includes tangible research material and biological material that are useful. The disclosure places the technology transfer office in a position and informs about the options and available resources. If your invention is made on your own time, it’s mandatory that submission of disclosure and statement that no use of university time and resources. If at any chance, the above was not followed, the university provides for a waiver as per university policy. As per the system, the university will not interfere with the publication of the research. It is encouraged to inform the institution of any disclosure of any invention soonest possible for protection as spelt in the policy.
Intellectual property protection
For the idea to patentable, it must satisfy the following requirements; Novelty that states it should not have been disclosed to the public by any individual. It should not have been disclosed to the public before the filing date of the application. Canada and the United States enjoy one year about the disclosure of invention; hence it should not have been filed for more than one year before the date of filing. Non-obviousness expresses new features and non-obvious results compared to known approaches, common differences, and other modifications are patentable. The utility is also a mandate to satisfy, and the invention should be new but highly useful and functioning and have great benefits. Experienced patent agents are recommended since it’s a tiresome task, and they help in legal and technical complexities.
The reason for patent confers to market monopolies and has a duration of 20 years, and the owner is the ideal property assignee. It allows the owners to prevent commercialization, usage, or importation of the idea or product. They provide a competitive advantage as it is a vital business weapon, and provides a challenge for large and small companies and pursues protection strategically. Failure to the application of patent before disclosure and might not be able to patent only to the United States and Canada. The one-year grace period enjoyed in the two countries also applies to offer for a sale and confidentiality. Invention to be categorized as a trade secret, it should not be published in the public domain; on the contrary, no commercial gain will be granted. Options should be considered as the first step in the commercialization of the technology, and legal personnel should be consulted earlier.
Public disclosure refers to conventional publication and anything in the face of open access. It means any communication medium that can be spoken read or accessed by the public via email, internet, radio, or in the United States offer for sale or sale. Receipt of confidential agreement that providing legal commitment for no disclosure and protection against public disclosure.
The provisional patent application is an essential tool for getting protection.
This application is a simple document that needs details, portraits; you can decide whether to include claims or not. The department does not scrutinize the final report. The patent application is in a position to claim the proceeds before the first year of implementation. In the case of the patent budget deficit, validation of the market is effective before knowing the patent’s extent. The document’s usefulness is that it is not costly to prepare and consumes time before counting losses of the full material. There exist pitfalls with the application of the document, such as invention rumoured must be supported by design described. Excessive delay of grants is guaranteed because examination begins at the end of the application.
Drafting of patent application results from agent and inventor collaborating while the inventor contributes to technical disclosure. An excellent technical invention disclosure is critical for a good patent. Technical disclosure and invention summary are essential documents for a proper license. Patent agents use the materials to make detailed descriptions and claims, which are necessary for a patent application. It is very critical for a detailed description of becoming an enabler. The patent should provide full disclosure enough to apply and use the invention. Licenses become null and void if they do not meet specific standards, such as not disclosing the invention’s aspect in a language best comprehensible to a person possessing necessary skills. Details for applying a patent is quite extensive.
Process of preparation of patent application documents.
- Requirements;
Describing the invention technically and detailed.
Explanation of aspects and methods of implementation, such as a computer program and its application. Including several invention’s implementations and where reliable data can be extracted.
Summarization of advantages compared to other initial arts.
The background section includes a summary form of the data and disadvantages explained for justification of invention.
- Patentability search
When enough disclosure of the task has been engaged to have the precise detail, a thorough patent search should be done for identification of close prior. An appropriate patenting strategy is adopted when relevant art early in the application process.
- Establishment of due dates
All due dates are compulsory for the establishment and should be logged as soon as possible. In the case of the United States, a one-year mark or anniversary of the date is recorded.
- Material review
Proper documentation is in place for other valuable uses in technical disclosure, such as invention disclosures, grant applications, journal articles, and theses. Great feedback from the patent agent should be given in documentation to indicate further documentation and example types of content.
- Creating a list of action items
Due dates for completion of technical disclosure, a list of actions is supposed to be prepared, including the assignment of work to particular people and due dates. The preparation of technical disclosure needs a formal project management approach and several people.
- Casting invention in light of prior art
A draft summary of the invention is agreed after reviewing of technical disclosure together with patentability search by both parties. The document expresses an essential aspect of designs openly in the light of the prior art, as stated in the patentability search.
7) Completion of the technical disclosure
Enabling disclosure is created after the end of the technical disclosure and all-important aspects of the invention identified in the summary of the invention.
8) Finalization of the detailed description
The patent agent is tasked with transforming technical disclosure to enabling disclosure but also abstracting the invention to the necessary scope from the patent view. Claims included in the foreshadowing of the applications that will be filed later in a case of provisional filing and at any given rates. The detailed description should predict the claims submitted at a later date.
9) Finalization of claims
Claims are finalized at this stage in case of non-provisional patent filing; maximum support for each and particular claims should be in detail.
10) Completion of patent-related documents
Multiple inventorship form is signed by all inventors to show their particular effort plus their assignment being approved by the inventors and retention of the original extra material or copy.
11) Filling of applications
12) Logging of due dates, including foreign filing and demand for improvement.
13) Monitoring
The legitimate monitoring process of newly published patent applications are made, or freshly published target applications for patent for competitors, and this includes strict scrutiny in the market.
Choosing the right commercialization path
The chart below illustrates the general commercialization process outlining critical steps in the process of research directed to technology transfer to a news organization.
Definition of personal objectives
After the technology disclosure process, it creates time for personal and commercial objectives consideration, and a strategy has to be placed for achievement. Commercialization effort of any review of personal resources, so it is essential to consider its objectives and goals. They include the following, academic recognition, own avoidance of risk, the achievement of personal wealth, short-term positive exit, and the most effective way to capitalize on the technology effect. An honest perspective should be observed on the commercialization effort and expectation. Potential partners and technology transfer office is essential and keenly observed by all participants with clear and realistic expectations.
Channels of commercialization
They are classified into three; starting a new company or organization, licensing the technology of an existing company, and assigning or selling ownership of the technology to a current organization. Many variables impacts critical choice include the objective of the inventor, industry to be applied, and the technology itself.
Commercialization or assigning ownership of the technology.
The following circumstance requires a viable solution as below;
In the case of competitive advantage to the dominant player company, who is interested in purchasing it, it has significantly led to improvement to its products and services. In a situation where it happens that the company is a significant player and takes charge of the market, and it will bring competitive difficulty in the business.
Where there’s existence of one available market for the technology to be commercialized internationally.
It may be illegal to establish a decision to sell the technology without consulting other inventors and key participants like industry sponsors and funding agencies. After the commercialization of the technology, one loses control over its exploitation, usage for any purpose unless stipulated in the assignment agreement.
Licensing a technology
It is a long-lasting solution in the following event;
In case of lack of resources by the inventor to commercialize it or the development of a new business venture.
When there exists a small warrant for the creation of a new company in the market
In case the technology applied to a variety of markets, it is advised to be licensed to different partners to commercialize it to generate maximum revenue.
Only licensing the rights that you are willing to grant or offer, and it’s advantageous as it creates share of risk, also generation of minimum revenue unlike when done at personally.
Licensing Agreement
It is divided as Nonexclusive and exclusive license; nonexclusive license carries the power to sell, make, have made, and use particular technology as stated in the license with or without the right to sublicense others. They are issued with geographical rights, specified use, the licensed business, and the agreement’s purpose. Exclusive licenses hold the owner’s right to make, use, and commercialize the particular technology in the stated license and rights to the inclusion of all others plus the inventor. Numerous organizations prefer exclusive licenses as they lock out competitors from access. The success of the technology depends on a particular company and haunts the inventor in terms of risk as the conditions are more restrictive. An example, exclusive licenses requires payment of least royalties, and supreme effort on the licensee to exploit it commercially and, to maintain its exclusivity. In the event of failure to meet the threshold, the agreements usually provide for the termination or conversion to a nonexclusive license.
Advantages of licensing
Share and diversity of risk, earlier financial reward, inadequate time and resources for inventor and instant resources dedicated for sale
Disadvantages of Licensing
Lower financial gains, lack of control of technology, reduction of inventors’ participation, and problems in finding appropriate licensee.
Commercialization via a start-up company
Currently, at the university the players are keen on reaching their work at the market by establishing a new organization for the following reasons;
Have contacts to create a viable business team and access to other support and resources. There has been unsuccessful licensing of the technology, much wish to work with the experienced business person to provide leadership to the company. In a case where the market potential for the opportunity is worth the added risk and the desire to participate in maximizing technological value. The creation of a successful new company is tedious, and its success is influenced by externally. Creating a new company to sell your technology holds the most significant risk and can also lead to the highest potential reward.
In consideration of that, it is good all of the support available to maximize the chances of success. Technological transfer offices have financial support resources available, and it advised to understand the university’s policies on start-ups for the right determination and responsibilities. The creation of new technology has more technology to deal with the quality of the market. Below, describe common steps engaged in assessing the potential to create a new technology reliable business;
- Product or service options; each technology there exist vast areas of application. E should be able to test and explore different products or services enabled by the technology and targeted market.
- Business concept development; the best service or product should be selected for further analysis. A brief document on every option should be prepared service or good, weaknesses, threats, a summary of its strengths (SWOT analysis).
- Feasibility analysis; referring to step 2, the new organization will need a first service or product that will help reach the market. Many start-ups companies try to satisfy their clients, and it’s essential to start with particular product direction on a target market. Detailed 5-10 pages feasibility analysis should be prepared to provide details of product or services, the available market opportunity, vital competitors, and major players in the market.
- Identification of initial business team
After identification of the target market for the product or service, the right team is needed to develop and execute the plan. On the application of only the most reliable technology, the highest single predictor of the success of a new organization depends on its management team. Investors have a notion those only highly-rated managers with second-rated products, unlike vice versa. Experienced business people can be obtained via technology transfer policy through the identification of potential candidates.
- Preparation of a business plan
Its purpose includes a management document that helps in the development of a team and the implementation of strategies for the development of the enterprise. Secondly, it can be used as a sales document to attract investors and strategic partners to the firm. It is an expansion of the feasibility analysis but a comprehended one with proper details of critical strategies, investment opportunity, financial projections, and management and technical team.
Commercialization involves control, technological, market, and team issues. Issues dealing with control include technology licensing or registering a new company. Collaboration and communication with people having a different opinion are essential. Commercialization involves collaborating with colleagues with diversified ideas. Proving that one’s technology operates well is a must while commercializing. The provision of functional proof is necessary. A possible market for technology is essential when choosing the path of commercialization. Creating new companies is not guaranteed by each invention because other markets may be too little or very big, therefore unmanageable. They are being real on market size when choosing a commercialization path.
Honesty and commitment of technology is a must to all inventors. Investors not ready to commit themselves are a hindrance to commercialization and should focus on licensing. Inventors should employ qualified people because most enterprises fail due to unqualified personnel at the helm.
To develop a business concept, the inventor needs to consider services sold and technology used. Customers’ character is also essential. Feasibility analysis remains a vital thing. The value of the product towards the consumer and how to distribute the benefit is critical too.
Feasibility scrutiny assesses business concepts to know its potential in the market. Size of the product to determine if the feasibility study is worth it and conditions for the developed product. The creation of a new company is based on trends of the markets, barriers towards the entrance, technological status, and size of profit, distributors, and competitor’s opinion about the industry: customers’ definition, benefits, and difference of service with others. Capital requirements, distribution channels, and expert analysis are essential.
There should be a positive relationship between the size of a company and its cash majority of investors who chose significant investments. Companies often struggle when large investments are made. New companies need a bailout and funding. The main difficulty is that most institutions remain accustomed to invest in different areas. Security for loans is required, especially when starting a new business with funding from banks. Business angel networks have flooded Canada in a bid to fill the gap existing in the funding sector. Investors are introduced to companies needing investments by the angels. The introduction is access to huge funds, and the company’s ability to grow is halted by investors who cannot finance the second phase of funding. The business angel networks introduce companies to investors. Amateur private investors may end up paying too much money to a praised company. Reducing the valuation will angry the majority of shareholders and board members. Valuation and negotiations with investors need the best minds advising you. Lawyers and good accountants help in creating referrals to other investors.
Public markets
An initial public offering (IPO) is a technicality whereby the organization taps revenue by commercializing a given number of shares of the company openly, like in stock exchange. It is a disadvantage to the majority of start-up companies struggling to raise a sufficient amount of capital. It is also a dwindling task to be cleared out of the restriction, so the process becomes economically untenable if the worth of the business is below $ 1million.
Government
There exist a variety of government programs designed to assist companies in sell, research, and product development, for example, IRAP, OCE Inc, RCA’s SR&ED Tax Credits. There is evidence of technology or sector-specific resources that are available.