Marketing, Commercial Development and Confidentiality

When potentially valuable technology has been identified and protected, Isis works closely with the inventors to commercialise the technology.

This involves identifying the right partner for the commercial development and exploitation of the technology in the marketplace. It is easy to choose the wrong partner and a number of considerations should be addressed when choosing partner(s). Examples are: sufficient resources to take the technology to market; real intent to develop the technology as it may compete with in-house programmes; and awareness of access of the final products, where applicable, to developing countries. This last point, involving partly ethical concerns, is of particular relevance to human healthcare technologies and researchers should discuss with Isis appropriate measures which can be taken.

Isis will write a one page, non-confidential, summary of the invention in conjunction with the inventor which is initially distributed to the members of the Oxford Innovation Society, a group of leading industrial companies and potential investors. The Oxford Innovation Society members will look at each patent filed, and give a rapid response if they are interested in supporting its ongoing development.

One month after launching the patent to the Oxford Innovation Society, Isis will: (i) contact other potential licensees and distribute the one-page summary to them; (ii) publish on the Isis web site and other technology transfer web sites; and (iii) publish in the Isis Intellectual Property Portfolio, made available to as wide an audience as appropriate. We actively encourage networking between potential licensees and researchers, and welcome commercial leads from researchers.

Following expressions of interest from companies, Isis will arrange meetings to discuss possible commercial transactions with a view to entering into option, evaluation or licensing arrangements. Such arrangements may also involve the funding of further research in the researchers' laboratory.

Confidentiality Agreements

Unless published for academic reasons, it is very important that researchers do not discuss their inventions with third parties without the protection of a confidentiality (or non-disclosure) agreement (available from Isis). This is the case even when a patent application has been filed

Outline or selected information about the technology is possibly of value to companies and can be obtained by companies from preliminary discussions with researchers. Confidentiality Agreements are necessary when you wish to disclose confidential information to a company in the early stages of discussions which may lead to research collaboration, or licensing of intellectual property.

Keeping information confidential until it can be protected by, for example, patents is often essential in establishing links with industry. It is far harder to encourage a company to fund research or to licence technology if the company has no privileged or exclusive access to the research work.