UM's Tech Transfer Notes
January 2010
Serving the Campus Community
Dear Colleague,
Greetings once again from The University of Montana's Office of Technology Transfer. I hope this note
finds you well, and looking forward to an exciting spring semester! I greatly appreciate all of the
feedback you provided in response to my November 09 note (link 1 below)! Hearing about your
experiences and expectations has helped me better appreciate the culture here at the university. So I
encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts and ideas as we begin this new chapter of technology
transfer at The University of Montana.
One story that captures this new era very well was recently featured in a local newspaper (link 2 below),
which told of a potential ground breaking stroke treatment co-discovered by Dr. Dave Poulsen, a
research professor in The University of Montana's Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical
Sciences. This developing technology transfer story not only tells of the real-world application of
university research in general, but also illustrates the potential for technology developed at OUR
university to significantly impact society as a whole.
Behind the headline of stories like Dr. Poulsen's are years of institutional and individual dedication to
the process of discovery, which is one of the major strengths of a research university. While the degrees,
publications, knowledge, and societal impact generated through this discovery process are key to the
sustainability and growth of the university, intellectual property is also considered an important
outcome of the university's research and academic efforts. Intellectual assets, such as patents and
copyrights, serve as a means by which discoveries can be commercially developed to serve the public
good through new products, new businesses, and even new industries.
The Office of Technology Transfer is charged with protecting and managing the university’s intellectual
property as part of its service mission to the university community. During the upcoming semester I'll be
visiting departments on campus to give a more detailed overview of both the importance and process by
which the office accomplishes this mission. For now, however, I'd like to emphasize the role of the
technology transfer office as the university's point of contact for situations involving intellectual
property, including the need for a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), Confidentiality Agreement, or a
Licensing Agreement. For these (and related) agreements, the technology transfer office can assist you
with the negotiation of terms that best fit the goals of the your program, and the mission of The
University of Montana.
As an additional step, the Office of Technology Transfer has worked collaboratively with the university’s
legal counsel to develop templates of the aforementioned agreements in an effort to encourage
proactive intellectual property management by the university community. This effort is in line with
intellectual property management best practices, which show that templates can significantly reduce
the amount of time from initiation to execution of an agreement. As reference, The University of
Montana templates are attached to this note, and I encourage you to contact the office for assistance
with developing executable versions of these agreements – which must be signed by the appropriate
institutional official. Here's an overview:
Confidentiality (or Nondisclosure) Agreements protect confidential information from disclosure to third
parties, and may be unilateral or bilateral;
Material Transfer Agreements protect tangible materials (such as biological samples) from misuse by or
unauthorized distribution to third parties;
Licensing Agreements establish, in written form, the terms by which one party can further develop, use,
make, or sell the intellectual property of another party.
To conclude this note I'll highlight the part of Dave Poulsen's story that didn't make the front page of the
paper – his proactive efforts (in the earliest stages of the discovery process) to protect the intellectual
property generated by his research program. With this story as an example, I hereby encourage you to
be proactive in contacting the Office of Technology Transfer with any intellectual property opportunities
or questions you may have!
As a final comment, I’d like to make you aware of a funding opportunity through the Montana Board of
Research and Commercialization Technology (link 3 below). The MBRCT has approximately $1.4 million
in funds for FY 2011 projects related to marketable products or processes. Proposals are due by March
1, 2010.
As always, if you have any suggestions please send me an email at joe.fanguy@umontana.edu or give
me a call at 243-2148.
Best Regards,
Joe.
Joe Fanguy, Ph.D.
Director of Technology Transfer
The University of Montana
UM’s Tech Transfer Notes, November 2009:
http://www.umt.edu/research/techtransfer/TechTransferNotes/default.aspx
UM Stroke Treatment Research in the news: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_ffb5ceca-e7ac11de-b6ca-001cc4c002e0.html
Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology Application RFP:
http://businessresources.mt.gov/Includes/RCT/2011Guidelines.pdf