Networking
Once the potential area of application has been identified, the next major
hurdle is to find the best company to deal with who wants the IP. It is
estimated that it takes about 18-24 months to close a licensing deal and at
least half that time is spent looking for a suitable partner.
On-line technology exchange organisations, like yet2.com for example,
sprung up in the mid- late 1990’s to act as a shop-window, with the aim of
facilitating this “dating” process.
Exchanges like this now proliferate in the chemical sector (and also in other
technology sectors, e.g. electronics and automotive industries), but there is
some concern that they are not, in themselves, the full answer. A Chicago-
based management consulting firm estimated that 80 percent of the
companies that have joined such exchanges have not yet used them to buy
or sell anything.
Since the most "comfortable" out-licensing option is into a non-competitive
market sector, this often requires knowledge and a network of contacts
outside of the core competence of the company. Many companies would
benefit from using skills and expertise of commercial technology licensing
organisations, or third party technology transfer agencies; a role being
increasingly played by, for example, the Knowledge Transfer Networks in
the UK.
We can help you to identify the areas of technology most suited to
collaborative R&D, and provide links into the networks to support this
activity.
