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The mission of the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is to assist
and lead the successful commercialization of innovations created
at CWRU. As steward of the intellectual property assets of CWRU,
the TTO has resources to protect the rights of both the inventor
and the university, and to assess the commercial potential of
new discoveries. The TTO also seeks to educate the university
faculty, staff and students and the regional community on issues
such as intellectual property, standard licensing practices,
and the formation of new ventures.
Our professional staff possesses a mix of business,
technical, scientific, legal, and venture capital experience
so that we can effectively and efficiently handle the wide
variety of tasks for which our office is responsible. We take
the job of protecting your discoveries very seriously, and
to that end, we are always available to discuss your research
with you and to offer advice or guidance on intellectual property
issues or university policies. For a list of our policies
please visit our policies
section.
WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
Protect your Invention.
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When you need to send or obtain materials
from another institution for your research, we will
negotiate and execute a Material Transfer Agreement
(MTA)
which will preserve your intellectual property rights
associated with your research. (For MTAs, please contact
Stacy
Fening).
When you submit an invention disclosure, a licensing
manager will meet with you to discuss your work, and
your goals and objectives for your invention. If you
are interested in patenting and commercializing your
work, the licensing manager will evaluate the commercial
potential of the invention, including the patentability
of the invention and the breadth of protection that
might be available. If your invention has sufficient
commercial potential to warrant an investment, we will
contract with outside patent counsel with appropriate
domain expertise who will craft a patent application.
The TTO performs these services, including commercial
evaluation and patent filing, at no charge to the inventor.
(If your invention eventually produces income, we will
be reimbursed for our out-of-pocket expenses from that
income.)
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Market your invention to Industry. |
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The licensing manager assigned to
your invention will market your invention to potential
licensees. We work closely with inventors in order to
determine the market leaders in the particular field
of interest, and to identify the companies that are
best equipped to fully exploit the technology. The TTO
also has access to its own extensive collection of industry
contacts.
In order to conduct discussions with outside organizations
without compromising patent rights, the licensing manager
will execute a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
before any confidential information is shared. Once
the case manager has identified interested licensees
he/she will begin the process of negotiating a license
that provides fair return for the invention.
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Help you start a new venture. |
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If your invention has substantial
commercial potential, but no companies currently exist
which can fully exploit the new discovery, we will help
create a startup company. The TTO has a seed fund,
Case Technology Ventures (CTV), which can make investments in startup
endeavors to help them advance their idea to the next
stage, such as writing a business plan, hiring a CEO,
renting lab space or facilities, or building prototypes.
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