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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