Research

Commercialization and knowledge transfer can be confusing processes for researchers—precisely because they’re researchers and not necessarily versed in the world of business and marketing.

At U of T, researchers can take advantage of the resources and services available at the Innovations and Partnerships Office (IPO), or they can choose to commercialize on their own.

Pre-Commercialization

An invention disclosure (link) must be filed before any commercialization activities can take place. The disclosure fulfills a researcher’s responsibility to the university and helps define the boundaries of the invention.

After disclosure, if the idea is going to be commercialized for financial gain, the researcher must decide whether to take personal responsibility for commercializing the invention (the researcher retains 75 per cent of gross revenues) or to allow the university to do so through IPO (the researcher retains 60 per cent of gross revenues).

Evaluation and Protection

If researcher decides to work with IPO, staff there start by researching patentability, freedom to operate and market opportunity for the idea. This is followed by a commercialization plan.

If it’s not going to be commercialized for financial gain, IPO staff are still available to help with marketing and planning for knowledge transfer.

From Idea to Product (The Gap)

This is the step that most researchers overlook. An idea often needs a lot of work before it becomes a marketable product. Usually what’s needed here is cash to help develop and refine the idea—but investors tend to be risk-averse, so finding this cash can be a challenge.

IPO staff have access to various sources of funding—industrial, governmental, and private—to get researchers over the gap.

After it’s been developed, the next step is to develop a marketing strategy.

Commercialization/Knowledge Transfer

When the product is ready to go, we help you reach your audience. In the case of commercialization for financial gain, this can mean finding companies ready to take an idea to the next level. If the technology is what’s called “disruptive,” a researcher might choose to launch a start-up company. Disruptive technology totally replaces existing technology (rather than improving on it) and so there may not be an obvious company to license to because existing companies tend to want to work with technology that’s proven.