Syracuse University supports faculty innovators in protecting and commercializing their discoveries. Whether you are a first-time inventor or have worked with the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) before, this page outlines the steps, responsibilities, and resources you need to manage intellectual property and invention disclosures.
First-Time Faculty Inventors
The information and resources available via this portion of the website is curated for a targeted audience, namely, faculty who are new to Syracuse University or new to the invention disclosure and intellectual property processes of the university.
Syracuse University has extensive experience in applying the principles of technology transfer in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.
Inventions often lead to patents, licenses, or technology transfer opportunities. You’ll need to submit an Invention Disclosure Form to OTT when you believe you’ve made a discovery. Disclosures are the first step in evaluating patentability and commercial potential.
Intangible assets are at the forefront of the modern economy. Members of the Syracuse University community across all disciplines are creating works, developing tools, and curating and sharing knowledge.
Historically, university technology transfer offices provided a link between science and engineering breakthroughs and the marketplace. More recently, universities are leveraging their technology transfer offices to disseminate knowledge, share tools, and improve the world around us.
Copyright
The following links from the Copyright Society of the USA provides the reader a great baseline on copyright, and will set the stage for all members of the Syracuse University community to engage with the Office of Technology Transfer as relates to copyright matters.
Copyright Terms and Definitions
Creative Commons
The Office of Technology Transfer may suggest you become familiar with Creative Commons as a means to grant a suite of rights to non-owners of a copyrighted work. More information is available at CreativeCommons.org. At present (2021), Creative Commons offers six types of pre-set licenses.
Experiential learning plays an important role in educating students. It is not uncommon for companies, not-for-profit organizations, government agencies, and sometimes solo entrepreneurs to interface with Syracuse University students. In some cases, capstone classes are organized around experiential learning tasks.
University faculty, students and external entities report positive impacts of shared learning and growth opportunities that are often synonymous with experiential learning.
In the absence of an alternate arrangement, generally speaking, intellectual property (IP) created by one or more students in classroom settings will belong to the “creator” student(s), consistent with the Syracuse University Policy on Ownership and Management of Intellectual Property. In exceptional circumstances, alternate arrangements may be considered, assessed, and if appropriate, memorialized. Contracts regarding same are subject to university signatory authority according to University policy.
Collaboration is a time-honored academic tradition.
The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) has noted a significant increase in invention disclosures involving non-SU innovators. That scenario may result in multiple entities (often the innovators’ employers) owning the invention. OTT manages the logistics of shared ownership.
The following resource provides guidance for innovators who have co-invented with a collaborator from outside Syracuse University:
Common agreements for collaborations are:
- Materials Transfer Agreements (MTA)
- Inter Institutional Agreements (IIA)
- Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA/CDA)
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
For Syracuse University innovators who plan to start a business to commercialize a technology using a patented technology in which the innovator himself/herself is an inventor, a note of caution: The Syracuse University Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) is focused on your understanding of the varied aspects of the business proposition and commercialization plan versus that of the science. Perhaps the previous statement is surprising, but the science behind a patented (or patent pending) technology being considered for a licensing agreement has already been vetted by OTT. Also, we recognize our researchers to be experts in their field of science.
While licensing terms vary greatly from technology to technology, Syracuse University seeks terms which make it economically feasible for a prospective licensee to market a product. Syracuse University has a strong record of negotiating and executing licenses considered to be fair and equitable by our partnering companies and licensees. Fees generally fall into the following categories:
- reimbursement of patent costs,
- license issuance and scheduled (annual or other) fees,
- royalties on product sales,
- milestone development or achievement fees.
Licenses may be available on a cash-only basis, or a cash-plus-equity basis. As is customary in university-to-industry IP licenses, Syracuse University requires due diligence provisions and indemnification for products sold.
Prospective licensees must be prepared to make a well-researched business case that
- Demonstrates an understanding and honest assessment of the market (good, bad, and ugly) and
- Articulates a reasonable timeline and well-supported cost projections for the pathway to market
- Clearly shows that the company can finance the endeavor with existing capital and/or future access to capital.
Syracuse University Intellectual Property Available for Licensing
Returning Faculty Inventors
The Office of Technology Transfer provides returning Syracuse University innovators the information needed to report a new invention or review existing invention disclosures.
Faculty in the course of their research often pursue external funding that may leverage university-owned or co-owned intellectual property (IP). When completing a funding proposal or writing a Statement of Work (“SOW”), contact both the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), if the proposal or SOW would require you/your team/your lab to practice existing IP, or if the funding sponsor may wish to practice existing SU-owned IP in order to execute their tasks. It is important to alert our offices, as well as any proposal support staff working with you via the Office of Proposal Support Services, or those proposal professionals affiliated with your college or center, at the proposal stage. This will allow the sister units of OSP and OTT to review the IP and possibly customize the contract IP terms and conditions with an understanding of the Background IP (BIP) and any future IP that may be created under the funding. Learn more about BIP via the UIDP (University Industry Demonstration Partnership) website. Specifically, see Volume 1 of the Contract Accords.
If you are planning to incorporate existing intellectual property in a funding proposal, please complete the following form and email to the Office of Technology Transfer:
STEM Faculty Background/Foreground Intellectual Property Questionnaire