For some technologies, a startup company is the optimal way to bring the technology to market.
Factors to consider include the development stage of the technology, the size of the problem the technology addresses, and the impact the technology will have on the market. This process requires partnership with several areas of the university to ensure compliance and success.
Startup Process
Steps 1 - 4: Getting Started
- Step 1 - Submit an Invention Disclosure Form - Creators should submit an Invention Disclosure Form as soon as a discovery is made at go.osu.edu/inventiondisclosure. This confidential, internal description serves as formal communication of the invention to the university. A university licensing officer will be assigned and contact the creator within four days.
- Step 2 - Create an action plan - The licensing officer will contact the creator to better understand the invention and outline initial action steps for both parties.
- Step 3 - Review and assessment of the technology - The licensing officer will work with the creator to assess the invention for third-party obligations and intellectual property (IP) protection potential.
- Step 4 - Protect intellectual property - Outside patent counsel, coordinated by the licensing officer, will work closely with the creator to draft a patent application based on the nature of the invention, markets and anticipated business model. For inventions that may be commercialized without patent protection, the licensing officer will discuss how IP rights in the invention could be managed.
The ERIK Technology Commercialization team will guide you through the invention disclosure submission process.
Step 5: Conflict Management
- Step 5 - Initial conflict management meeting with Compliance - Creators will need to contact ERIK Research Compliance at conflictInfo@osu.edu and the Office of University Compliance and Integrity (OUCI) at compliance-integrity@osu.edu to schedule an initial meeting to discuss potential conflict management in accordance with the Outside Activities and Conflicts policy, federal research regulations, and the Ohio Ethics Laws. A draft Conflict Management Plan (CMP) will be prepared.
ERIK Research Compliance and the Office of University Compliance and Integrity are your partners in this step.
Step 6: Startup formation
- Step 6 - Formation of the startup company - If desirable, the ERIK Technology Commercialization team may support the creator in finding a business leader who will then file the incorporation documents, negotiate the license agreement, prepare a business plan, recruit additional talent and raise capital for the startup. The creator may decide to be the technology leader of the startup.
Your partner in this step is the ERIK Technology Commercialization team.
Steps 7 - 8: Conflict Management Plan
- Step 7 - Submit Outside Activity Approval Form - Creators who wish to take a role with the startup company after the startup has been incorporated, must submit an Outside Activity Approval Form in the eCOI application to obtain pre-approval from their college. The form will route to the appropriate individuals in the creator’s college for review and then to the Conflict Approval Committee (CAC) for approval, pending a CMP.
- Step 8 - Final meeting to execute Conflict Management Plan
Creators will need to schedule a second meeting with ERIK Research Compliance at conflictInfo@osu.edu and OUCI at compliance-integrity@osu.edu to prepare a final CMP. The CMP will be circulated in DocuSign for sign-off by the creator, the creator’s department and college administration, and the CAC Chair.
ERIK Research Compliance and the Office of University Compliance and Integrity are your partners in this step.
Steps 9 - 10: Intellectual Property
- Step 9 - License the Intellectual Property Agreement - The licensing officer will lead the license negotiation. To avoid conflicts of interest, the creator is not directly involved in license negotiations.
- Step 10 - Conduct business - Ideally, the commercialization process leads to a product sold on the market returning royalties and other revenue to Ohio State that is used for additional research, education and inventive activity. Through the life of the license, Technology Commercialization monitors compliance with any agreement and continues to manage all IP activity. ERIK Research Compliance and OUCI will monitor compliance with the CMP, and, if recommended, send an email with the creator’s outside activity approval to ERIK Technology Commercialization requesting University Technology Commercialization Company (UTCC) status for the startup from the Technology Transfer Oversight Committee (TTOC).
Your partner in this step is the ERIK Technology Commercialization team.