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Technology Transfer Definition

technology transfer – n : commonly referred to as tech transfer; the process of arranging for the commercialization of technology-based inventions or innovations originating in research universities, government or non-profit laboratories or large corporations. Technology transfer involves the organization responsible for originating the technology negotiating the transfer of the commercialization rights to that technology to a commercial entity (typically a for-profit company) via a licensing agreement. The business arrangements associated with tech transfer agreements can vary widely, but typically involve the company receiving the commercialization rights paying the owner of the intellectual property or IP (the inventing organization) some combination of up-front license fees, royalties (variable payments calculated as a percentage of future sales), and/or partial equity ownership (stock) in the commercializing company. (Stock ownership is only common in tech transfer deals in cases in which the commercializing entity is a startup company for whom the intellectual property being transferred is a strategic part of their product portfolio. Large, publicly-traded companies will typically acquire tech transfer intellectual property using some combination of the cash payment mechanisms described above – as opposed to stock).

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Adapted from "The CompanyCrafters Entrepreneur's Dictionary"
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