Technology Commercialization Process
To learn more about research on your campus, visit the Division of Research for the University of Maryland, College Park and the UMB Research Profile for the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
To learn more about the invention disclosure process or to disclose an invention, select the link below based on the appropriate campus.
After the respective office receives a new invention disclosure, a meeting will be arranged between the inventors and UM Ventures; this will take place as soon as schedules permit, and typically within 30 days. During this meeting, which can last up to two hours, inventors will meet to discuss the invention and evaluate its patentability and commercial potential. Among the topics discussed are the potential applications of the technology, the market landscape, potential competitors, and/or industry partners, and the inventor’s research plans. Inventorship and funding support for the work will also be discussed. At the end of this meeting, inventors and UM Ventures staff will have outlined the immediate next steps in the commercialization process.
Patents are a primary mechanism to protect intellectual property, and often become important assets for commercialization. An issued patent confers a limited monopoly to the patent owner to exclude other parties from practicing the claimed intellectual property. A timeline of the patent application process is depicted below – the process typically takes several years, and there’s no guarantee that an issued patent will result. At the starting point, if UM Ventures' review of a new invention disclosure shows potential for patent protection, a provisional patent application will generally be filed. The provisional application serves as a one-year placeholder, during which time the inventor and UM Ventures work together on the potential claims and supporting data that is necessary for the next phase of the patent application process. Provisional applications must be converted within one year from the date of filing. As patents are country-specific, UM Ventures works with the inventors and, if available, industry partners, to identify countries in which to file (i.e., those countries deemed important for manufacturing and/or sales of products based on the invention). The efforts involved in IP protection require a major investment of resources on the part of the University, and UM Ventures must periodically reassess the overall IP investment strategy, given limited resources.
Copyright is another mechanism to protect intellectual property. It is a way to protect a creative work that is fixed in a medium that allows it to be perceived, reproduced, and communicated. Examples of copyrightable works include computer programs, technical drawings, and maps. Copyright can be claimed upon creation of an original work. Official registration of the copyright may be sought in order to enforce its exclusive rights through litigation. UM Ventures will work with the University creators of copyrightable works to identify useful applications and find licensing partners to commercialize the work.
Tangible Research Property (TRP) refers to research products that may not be patentable but nonetheless have value as research tools (i.e., that are difficult and/or expensive to create). TRP includes biological materials, such as cell lines and transgenic animals and plasmids. UM Ventures may be able to license these materials to commercial entities for use in research or to sell as research tools, with revenues to be shared with the University creators. Such licenses are typically non-exclusive, so the same TRP can be licensed to more than one company.
Patent Timeline
Application Preparation and Prosecution Timeline
Post Issuance
For more information, visit Inventor IP Resources or contact UM Ventures.
To promote and market the research expertise and portfolio of technologies at UMD and UMB, UM Ventures will connect with many types of potential industry partners. Our team will market specific technologies and seek feedback on the general market landscape. UM Ventures' marketing takes a variety of forms, for example: by posting non-confidential summaries on UM Ventures and other websites, responding to inquiries, and pitching the technology and to business development industry contacts throughout the year and during annual professional conferences focused on tech transfer. When marketing efforts move to the stage where a company wishes to learn more details about a given technology, UM Ventures will put a confidentiality agreement (“CDA”; also called non-disclosure agreement or “NDA”) in place before facilitating the dialogue between the inventor(s) and the company. A CDA/NDA will require a party to protect the unpublished, confidential information which is provided by the other party for a period of several years, unless that information becomes publicly available in the meantime.
TRPs and copyrighted materials are also marketed by UM Ventures. We welcome referrals from inventors to commercial entities that may be interested in using or selling these.
UM Ventures has several resources for Investors interested in forming a startup company around their technology. Members of our Ventures team have considerable experience in startup formation, financing, business valuation, etc. UM Ventures also has a select group of entrepreneurs-in-residence, with seasoned management experience in several business sectors (medical devices, software, and therapeutics commercialization). University inventors are welcome to seek advice from these experts, and can start by contacting one of UM Ventures' licensing officers.
UM Ventures has several types of commercial agreements to meet the needs of our industry partners. For example, a company can enter into an exclusive option agreement, to evaluate a technology for a period of time (e.g., 1 year) before entering into a longer-term master license agreement to permit commercialization of a University technology. The content of any license or similar commercial agreement typically includes the confidential information of our business partners, and therefore copies of such agreements remain in UM Ventures and are not distributed outside of the office.
For licensed University technologies, revenues are shared between the inventors, the inventors' departments, and the appropriate division governing research at the University. This is all managed in accordance with the Policy on Intellectual Property.
At UMB, funds are disbursed by UM Ventures once a year. These funds are disbursed on the anniversary of the date of UM Ventures' receipt of the first license payment.
At UMCP, funds are disbursed in accordance with the giverning Policy on Intellectual Property at the time the disclosure is received. Graphical breakdowns of the distribution policies can be downloaded here.