In a bold move that is the is the first of its kind in the country, Stellenbosch University is making its intellectual property and research findings available to companies and firms, for free.

Through its technology transfer company, InnovUS, the University is hoping to bridge the gap between funding and intellectual property development. The novel concept is a simple one; the University is making its intellectual property freely available to companies to develop, and firms will only have to pay once/if the innovation starts generating a return. InnovUS CEO Anita Nel elaborated:

[InnovUS] provides private sector entities with an opportunity to introduce new technology into their business environments with minimal effort and with absolutely no upfront cost.

The technology has not been tested in industry, it is on paper or in a lab. We have no idea how the technology will impact [the company’s] process…The only time the company pays is when [the technology] generates an income, and this is R1 000 a year, or 1% of the income generated as a result of using the technology.

Up until now, one of the biggest problems faced many innovators has been an inadequate source of funding. Ms Nel explained the dilemma:

The Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act of 2008 encourages us to strive [and develop] all technologies on our books, but where do you want to spend your small resources?

About 95% of our income is derived from less than 5% of the technologies on our books.

To further complicate the matter, taking an idea from its inception, through to prototyping and finally into a pilot is akin to a trip through “the valley of death”, and that costs a lot of money.

The new initiative promises to benefit both the University and the companies taking advantage of the opportunity. It allows the University to develop its technologies without the significant financial burden while opening the doors between “people in the university and small, micro-and medium-sized enterprises”, said Ms Nel.

[Source: BDlive]