Technology Transfer Best Practices

Claudio Nidasio

Università di Trento

SETI 2017 EIT Raw Materials Summer School

Divisione Supporto alla Ricerca Scientifica e al Trasferimento Tecnologico

Trento, 8 September 2017

A MODEL OF Technology Transfer

• 0. What is Technology Transfer

• 1. Technology / Invention Disclosure (Model)

• 2. The evaluation of Innovation Readiness Levels

- Technology Readiness Level
- Customer Readiness Level
- IPR Readiness Level

• 3. Identify Market needs and business opportunities in the Raw Materials Sector

• 4. Start Up Creation (The entrepreneurship model) – A Business plan approach for

academic start ups

• 5. Financing / Education for Start ups

 Technology Transfer – the concept
Technology transfer (TT) from public laboratories is to get the ideas, inventions, and
technologies developed with taxpayer money into the hands of the private sector as quickly as
possible, and in forms useful to that community.
• TT includes a number of activities summarised as follows:
• Identify (internal marketing, ownership evaluation)
• Protect (Patenting Strategy protection)
• Translate (Proof of Concept, development design)
• Market (Marketing ID customers Promotion)
• Licensing (Valuation, Negotiation)
• Spin out (Business Plan, Fundraising, Team management
Innovation Readiness level
Level Technology readiness level Customer readiness level Intellectual property readiness
level
Actual technology system qualified through Widespread product sales Patent granted. Patent included in a
9 successful mission operations product sold in the market

Actual technology system completed and First product sold Patent granted. Patent licensed/sold to
8 qualified through test and demonstration a company

Technology prototype demonstration in an Customers in extended product testing Patent granted after Europe / PCT
7 operational environment and/or first test sales approval

Technology demonstration in a relevant Benefits of the product testing and/or European / PCT procedure entered or
6 environment first test sales nationalisation phases
Technology validation in relevant Established relations with target Feedback to search report
5 environment customers
Technology validation in laboratory Confirmed needs from several Patent application / provisional filed
4 customers and/or users
Analytical and experimental proof of First market feedback established Prior art / freedom to operate analyzed
3 concept of critical function and/or
characteristics
Technology concept and/or application Identified specific needs in market Identified specific IPR tools (patent,
2 formulated utility model, copyright, industrial
secret)
Basic principles observed Hypothesizing on possible needs on Invention disclosure and technology
1 market ownership assigned

Assess
TRL (1-9): CRL (1-9): IPRL (1-9):
ment
Model of Technology Transfer – PROGRESS TT

A European Model of Technology Transfer in 3 phases

Phase 1 – Scouting Ideas and Technologies and incentivising disclosures

Phase 2 - Assessing IP potential, validating technologies and incentivising

for commercialisation

Phase 3 – Accessing finance and interacting with financial stakeholders

Model of Technology Transfer - tools

Fase 1 – Scouting Ideas and Technologies and incentivising disclosures

Technology Scouting
• Invention Disclosure
• Technology / Invention Due Diligence Cross projects
• IPR Analysis / Ownership • KICs
• NDAs • Technology Clusters
Fase 2 - Assessing IP potential, validating technologies and • Smart specialisations
• H2020
incentivising for commercialisation (Hyp: Unitrento 50% - HIT 50%) • International networks of
• Technology/market assessment innovation
• Patent / IPR filing
• Business planning
• Regolamento Brevetti e start up Unitrento
Fase 3 – Accessing finance and interacting with (industry) & financial
stakeholders
• IPR Licensing
• Industry / Technology Analysis
• Industry – Academia Collaboration (Conto terzi, Legge 6)
• Seed Money & SME Instrument
• VCs & Business Angels
Phase 1 - Scouting Ideas and Technologies and incentivising disclosures

- TECHNOLOGY OR SERVICE (IDEA)

- NEED
- VALUE PROPOSITION (BENEFITS RETURNS RISKS)
- BARRIERS TO COMMERCIALISATION
- SALES AND MARKETING

Descrizione del TOOL: This disclosure form is intended to guide you through gathering the
information needed to understand the idea or invention and to provide an initial assessment
of the commercial potential. This assessment may be used as a first stage-gate to determine if
further resources should be deployed to take this to the next stage-gate of a more detailed
assessment.

Link to European Patent Office: www.epo.org (Espacenet for searching patents)

Phase 2 – Assessing IP potential, validating technologies and incentivising for commercialisation -
Detailed assessment and due diligence

- APPLICATION (includes TRL)

- MARKET
- COMPETITION
- TEAM QUALITY
- DEVELOPMENT TIME & COSTS
- IPR, REGULATORY & INVESTMENT
 Phase 3 – Accessing finance and interacting with financial stakeholders - Understanding what
industry wants to secure investment

- INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
- INVESTORS (VCs)
- INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP
- ACCESS TO FINANCE
- START UP INCUBATION
 D2T – Start Cup Competition
Business Competitions

“Premio Impresa e Innovazione D2T Start Cup”

D2T is organized yearly by the team. It is a Business Competition, whose target are groups of
youngsters (from 15 to 35 years old)
Winners are automatically admitted to National Prize for Innovation, the National Business
Competition.
FIGURES: since 2007 434 participants; 15 startups were born; €340k€ have been payed.

www.trentinosviluppo.it
Seed Money financing
Seed Money Calls for Projects

Bando Seed Money

Periodic Call for Innovative entreprenuerial projects, funded by ERDF funds. Grants (100% financing) up to
€150k€ for innovative and technological startups to cover startup expenses in the first 18-24 months of the
startup lifecycle.
FIFURES: Calls “FESR 3/2009”, “1/2011” and “1/2013” payed 9,5 M€.
100 beneficiaries since 2009, out of which 82 are on the market with 335 jobs.

www.trentinosviluppo.it
Claudio Nidasio

Divisione Supporto alla Ricerca Scientifica e al Trasferimento Tecnologico

Direzione Ricerca e Sistema Bibliotecario di Ateneo
Università degli Studi di Trento
Via Calepina, 14 - 38122 Trento
Tel. +39 0461 281163
Fax +39 0461 281128

claudio.nidasio@unitn.it

www.unitn.it/technology-transfer