Research

What is commercialization anyway? The term refers to a broad set of activities that add value to a discovery by bridging the gap between an idea and the creation of a definable and marketable product or process, to create financial gain for inventors, investors and their respective institutions and stakeholders and/or benefit to society.

Knowledge transfer is another word that generally means the same thing—adding value to a discovery by bridging the gap between it and a product or process. But the way it’s commonly used refers to a product or process that’s not associated with financial gain. Examples of knowledge transfer could be open source software, or a new program designed to help breastfeeding moms.

Inventors who work at universities or other institutions may be required to file an invention disclosure after they invent something. Held in confidence, an invention disclosure notifies your institution of the invention and helps sort out issues of ownership and in assessing whether an idea is commercializable.

Filing a patent can be part of the commercialization process. A patent gives an inventor the exclusive right to profit from an invention within a certain jurisdiction and for a certain length of time. In Canada, patents are good for 20 years.

Commercialization often also requires that inventors have freedom to operate, which means the process of commercialization must be able to unfold without infringing on someone else’s rights.

Intellectual property refers to the rights that result from intellectual activity. Unlike an invention, intellectual property isn’t tangible — think ideas, designs.

Seed capital is cash that an inventor needs to help turn an idea into a product. This cash can come from government grants or private investors. Private investors could be angel investors, who tend to invest in technology at very early stages, or venture capitalists, who typically invest later in the process.

Licensing is giving the right to use a technology to a company. An established company will have the resources to continue developing the product and the ability to market it. The company typically pays royalties to the inventor in exchange for the license.

If there is no obvious company to license a technology to, an inventor may choose to create their own start-up or spin-off companies to bring their technologies to the marketplace.