Distributed Technology Transfer Portal for IP Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Universities, hospitals, and similar entities face challenges in managing and commercializing intellectual property due to insufficient resources, including funding, to staff and equip technology transfer departments effectively, leading to limitations in protecting, managing, and exploiting intellectual property.
Innovation Solution
A distributed technology transfer department (DTTD) system that operates as a clearinghouse, portal, and portfolio management system, providing a comprehensive platform with scalable and customizable features to support multiple entities, automating various functions typically performed by a technology transfer department, including information dissemination, evaluation, document management, and compliance reporting, while ensuring security and accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a technology transfer department is staffed and equipped with professionals and tools to protect and manage intellectual property, then the quality of intellectual property management improves, but the cost and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple technology transfer department functions (invention disclosure intake, evaluation, patent prosecution management, licensing, and commercialization tracking) into a single integrated online platform. This consolidation allows multiple entities to share a common infrastructure, reducing individual resource requirements while maintaining comprehensive IP management capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The online system is designed to serve multiple inventive entities simultaneously, providing universal access to technology transfer functions. The platform handles diverse IP management tasks including disclosure intake, evaluation workflows, patent prosecution coordination, and licensing management across different organizations, maximizing resource utilization efficiency.
2Productivity
If an online tool is implemented to automate technology transfer functions, then productivity and efficiency improve, but security risks and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The online system acts as an intermediary platform between inventive entities and technology transfer professionals. It provides automated workflows for disclosure intake, evaluation, and patent prosecution while implementing layered security controls including authentication, authorization, and data protection mechanisms to manage complexity securely.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service capabilities for users to submit disclosures, track application status, and access relevant documents through automated portals. This reduces manual administrative overhead while incorporating security measures such as user authentication and role-based access control to manage system complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If each inventive entity develops its own technology transfer tool with restricted access, then information security improves, but the cost and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of each entity developing separate tools, the patent merges multiple entities into a single shared online platform. Security is maintained through centralized control mechanisms including authentication systems, role-based access control, and data protection protocols, eliminating the need for duplicate security infrastructure across multiple independent systems.
4Adaptability or versatility
If manual processes are used to manage intellectual property transactions, then flexibility and adaptability improve, but time consumption and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The online system implements dynamic workflows that can be configured and adapted to different entities' needs while automating execution. Evaluation criteria, patent prosecution procedures, and licensing processes are made configurable through the platform, allowing flexibility in design while maintaining efficient automated execution that reduces time consumption compared to manual processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An online, and therefore distributed, technology transfer department accessible by multiple inventive entities is provided. The systems and methods of the invention provide a comprehensive interface to a remote application that collects information related to inventions, ranks the inventions, solicits approval for pursuing intellectual property protection, funding, financing, commercializing or otherwise exploiting the invention, solicits bids from a stable of service providers, manages the award of contracts to provide services, facilitates collaboration between users internal and external to the inventive entities and between different entities, implements security protocols, and reports government funded inventions to the appropriate regulatory agencies, and manages intellectual property portfolios. Each inventive entity may specify the level of control to be retained to utilize the distributed technology office application as a supplement for or as a substitute for full time technology transfer personnel.