Techdigitalweb – Technology transfer appears to be a new catchphrase, but in reality, it refers to a generic process by which technologies start, develop, become mature, and ultimately are used by an entity different from the one developing them.
In today’s research context, this term refers to how technological inventions and products are transferred from the laboratory to the market or from a company to another.
Generic Technology Transfer
This transfer of technological products is a process that is taken for granted. Most, if not all, technological inventions are developed in a university or laboratory.
Their invention has a particular goal or purpose in mind. When the institutions that develop them see their market value or benefit for others, they are then transferred to a potential buyer or beneficiary.
The term then develops to cover not only the transfer initiatives that occur between inventors and buyers. It covers a similar transfer that occurs on both a minor scale and a global one.
Technology transfer can thus occur between universities, between universities and businesses, and between businesses. The transfer may occur on a local or regional scale, but can also occur between different countries on earth.
As new technologies develop rapidly and the massive demand for them encourages real transactions, the transfer of technology becomes a growing trend. Both inventors and end-users consider it important to establish rules that define the terms and conditions of this kind of transaction.
This is the reason why many corporations today establish a dedicated department or office that handles the transfer of technologies and takes care of all legal matters related to it.
How Does Technology Transfer Work?
The transfer of technology is not the same as the transfer of physical goods. The transferable asset is abstract, there is intellectual property law protecting it, and there are government regulations that control how the technology should be used. The transactions should involve rules and regulations that allow the transfer to occur smoothly, legally, and mutually beneficial.
How does the transfer of technology generally work? In a nutshell, this transfer involves the transfer of the technology to the recipient while preserving the inventors’ intellectual property rights. If the invention takes place within a university laboratory, the university has the right to retain the IP while the buyers can enjoy the right to use, to develop, and sometimes to transfer to another entity.
Why does a company need to have a technology transfer department? This office’s main task is to communicate with the university where the transferred technology comes from. This office gathers information about the nature of the technological inventions, evaluates their usage and possible consequences (legal, corporate, etc.), assesses their intellectual property rights (exclusive, non-exclusive, partial, etc.), and investigates their potential market performance.
This office does an important job to make sure that the transferred technology will be safe, legal, and beneficial for the company.
How Important Technology Transfer Is?
The transfer is important because of several reasons. On the inventors’ side, they want to see whether their inventions could be beneficial for other parties besides themselves. They also want to assess how practical the inventions are and sometimes also how profitable they are. Technological products, no matter how revolutionary they are, give no real positive yield if they are not yet put in real practice by a party that can truly benefit from them.
Inventors do not always work and develop new inventions within a university. Many inventors start their careers as startups whose business focus is to develop new products and services that can later be used by potential buyers. For these startups, the transfer of technology has been in their mind since the first time they establish their business.
On the buyers’ side, the exploitation of newly developed technological breakthroughs can give them a real edge in their business. Some technological products might fail to meet their expectation, but most inventions give their users real benefits. The presence of a technology transfer office within a company makes sure that the benefits that the company can get from the inventions are significantly bigger than the negative impact and the cost that the inventions impose.
In the bigger picture, the transfer of technology is beneficial for the technology itself. This is because transferred technology isn’t unchanging and static. The party using it will actively develop it, often with the help of the IP rights owner. It is quite common to see technology users that can develop another more advanced form of transferable technology, effectively transforming them as users into new inventors.
Due to the dramatic impact that this process gives to the technology development itself, it continues to be an important part of civilization growth and development.
Technology Transfer Examples
To see the bigger picture of how important technology transfer is, you should look into some examples that have ever occurred in history. Many examples can shed a light on the tremendous impact this process gives to society.
The most palpable example is perhaps Google. Google was invented by a pair of university students as a search engine called Page Rank. The university eventually licensed this search engine. The technology ultimately evolves not only as a usable tool. It transforms into a tech giant with worldwide influence.
There are already many inventors that license their inventions to other companies. Examples include the licensing of UltrAuFoil to Quantifoil, the licensing of CombiPuck to Mitegen, and Fabrice Gorrec’s licensing of Morpheus III to Molecular Dimensions.
In many cases, the transfer does give a real impact on users and an even more dramatic impact on the technology’s further development.
Technology Transfer as a New Career
The transfer becomes the topic of discussion not only among top-level officials in universities and corporations. It also inspires job seekers to pursue a career in this field. Due to the massive demand for new technological backgrounds, a technology transfer specialist becomes a promising career, a career that both startups as entrepreneurs and fresh graduates can pursue. Technology transfer is a new trend that all parties from individual job seekers to multinational corporations should not ignore.
