Get Started with RVL
Research Ventures and Licensing handles a wide range of responsibilities relating to translational research and the management of intellectual property and its associated institutional policies. RVL has developed a Contact Us Tool to help you find the appropriate professional to address your particular concern. Our goal is to provide each investigator or administrator that interfaces with RVL prompt responses and accurate information in order to take advantage of opportunities, resolve problems, and provide education and guidance relating to institutional practices and policies.
Negotiate Research and Material Transfer Agreements
Research Ventures & Licensing reviews, negotiates, and approves of a wide range of research agreements, including Sponsored Research Agreements and Material Transfer Agreements. These agreements provide the terms and conditions that enable investigators to receive funding, research tools, and information from industry and other sources. In addition, the agreements articulate what investigators and the institution must promise the provider in the form of reports, intellectual property rights, and deliverables. Upon the receipt of a scope, approved budget, and completed questionnaire, a RVL agreement manager will commence to negotiate terms and conditions for the conduct of the research. Click here to access our forms, including the Material Transfer Agreement. Read more about Research Agreements in Frequently Asked Questions.
Manage Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property evaluation, protection, and management is a core component of RVL activities, consistent with the institutional mission to make inventions, copyrightable works and other intellectual property created by physicians, researchers and trainees available for public benefit.
The Partners Intellectual Property Policy describes how intellectual property created at these institutions is owned and managed, and how net income derived from this activity is distributed within the institution and to inventors.
The first step in the process is to submit a completed Invention Disclosure Form to RVL. From this information RVL professionals will begin a dialogue with the inventors to better understand the novelty and utility of the invention.
Identify opportunities and market ideas to industry
RVL receives hundreds of invention disclosures every year and has a deep understanding of many commercialization pathways and company interests, especially in the medical fields. Once an inventor presents an idea to RVL, it is assigned to a licensing professional who evaluates its commercialization potential and its ability to address unmet needs of society. Based on this assessment, licensing professional will determine the optimal path for protection of the invention. The licensing professional will then outline an appropriate strategy for commercialization which may include preparing descriptions to convey the product opportunity, identification of potential licensees, and steps that could lower the risks associated with third parties investing in the technology. Feedback from contacted companies will inform RVL professionals and will determine the scope and breadth of institutional investment in the technology.
Develop Agreements for commercialization of Intellectual Property
When a company shows interest in developing a technology, RVL will recommend a business arrangement, usually in the form of a license agreement, to transfer certain commercial rights to the company in return for compensation and other obligations to the institution. Confidentiality Agreementsallow the institution and the company to exchange information that is not yet public about the technology or business plans. Further research may be conducted at the institution using company funds to answer additional scientific questions about invention. Click here to read about services provided for industry and FAQs about licenses, confidentiality, and sponsored research agreements.
Advice on Start-up Opportunities
On occasion, the optimal strategy to commercialize a technology may be to create a new company to pursue the opportunity. Technologies that are paradigm shift and platform, as opposed to product specific, are often better suited to be developed in a new venture. RVL professionals in the Research and Licensing group and in the Partners Innovation Fund have specific expertise to support these transactions. Click here to read more about the Partners Innovation Fund and investment opportunities.