1. To get started, you must first disclose your innovation to Venture PartnersÌýby signing in to the Sophia portal and completing the invention or copyright material disclosure forms.ÌýIt's never too early! Disclosing your invention opens access toÌýIP and startup resourcesÌý²¹²Ô»å is required for properÌýcompliance with sponsored research and university policy.Ìý
2. After you disclose your innovation to Venture Partners, you will be assigned a case manager who will meet with you to discuss your invention, available resources and a commercialization strategy (how to bring your technology to market).Ìý
Note: If you are a researcher at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê, UCCS or you are at CU Denver and have a physical science or engineering innovation, you will work with Venture Partners.ÌýResearchers at the Anschutz Medical campus and researchers at CU Denver with biosciences innovations will work with .Ìý
To bring your invention to market through an industry partnership or startup company, patent and copyright protectionÌýcan be essential, asÌýthey create market exclusivity. Venture Partners willÌýhelpÌýyou obtain patents to support the commercialization of yourÌýuniversity innovations.
Patents will be pursued where there is a partnering company (startup or established), and if a partnering company is not yet present, Venture Partners has a finite patent budget that is allocated to the innovations with the highest commercial potential.ÌýWe will help you identify what resources and milestones are needed to provide a strong case for patenting and commercialization.
The process of obtaining patent fundingÌýthrough Venture Partners is competitive, as our officeÌýreceives approximately 160-190 new inventions each year.ÌýOur patent budget allows us to file U.S. provisional patent applications on about halfÌýof these inventions.
Venture Partners will pursue patent rights where dedicated funding is available, such as reimbursement from a company licensing the innovationÌýor Lab Venture Challenge funds.ÌýIn absence of external funding, Venture Partners will fund patents for innovations with the highest commercial potential and viability.ÌýThis is a competitive process among the inventions received by Venture Partners.Ìý
The specific criteria include:
- value proposition (does the invention solve a problem that is important to customers?)
- competitive advantage over existing solutions
- market validation (what feedback/traction has there been with potential users of the innovation?)
- likelihood of patentability (novelty, non-obvious, reduced to practice) and freedom to operate (doesn’t infringe others’ patents)
- external vetting (for example, commercialization competition outcomes and feedback)
- technology readiness (when can the technology be utilized by the intendedÌýcustomer base?)
Complete answers to these criteria are rarely available immediately, but the more information the better. If aÌýprovisional patent application is filed, it provides a year to make progress in these areas,Ìý²¹²Ô»å Venture Partners has several resources to help you make progress (see "How to Develop Your Invention" section).ÌýThen, as the expense rapidly increases during the years following provisional patent application, a heightened stringency is applied to these criteria.
The optimal strategy is to build commercial attractiveness as quickly as possible while patent costs are lower, and then license to an existing company or create a startup.ÌýVenture Partners will help you identify the steps that will build value and secure competitive patent funding, licenseesÌý²¹²Ô»å/or startup funding for your innovation.
Venture PartnersÌýhas specific resources designed to help your innovation fulfill the criteria for patent investment.ÌýThese include:
- ·¡²Ô³Ù°ù±ð±è°ù±ð²Ô±ð³Ü°ù¾±²¹±ôÌý°Õ°ù²¹¾±²Ô¾±²Ô²µ.ÌýBy hosting programs and workshops focusing on customer discovery, company formation, pitching, and what investors want, Venture PartnersÌýhelps researchers build value into their innovations.ÌýSessions range from 1-hour lunch & learn to multi-week programs.
- Lab Venture Challenge. This is Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê’s competition for commercialization grants.ÌýCompete for $125,000 grants plus participation in the Research-to-MarketÌýcustomer discovery program.
- .ÌýThrough a formal partnership and matching funds from Venture Partners, Kairos offers $125,000 gifts to labs with strong startup prospects.ÌýYour licensing manager can tell you more.
- MentorshipÌý& Advising.ÌýBusiness advisors and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence are available to help you build a commercialization strategy. We hostÌýregular events to pair innovators and advisors.ÌýWhether you are just looking for early feedback or a CEO for your startup, we can help you connect with experts in the community.
- Innovation Readiness LevelTM. Venture PartnersÌýwill assess your innovation’s current level and what steps are needed to advance, using this tool developed by out of Stockholm, Sweden.
- .ÌýThrough Venture Partners’ partnership with IN-PART—an online matchmaking platform for university-industry collaboration—your innovation will be featured to hundreds of companies, opening opportunities for feedback and licensing.
View More Entrepreneurial Resources
You can also find value-building resources outside of Venture Partners, including:
- I-CorpsTM.ÌýEmploy the methodology to build a viable business model.ÌýI-CorpsTM grants are available through and .
- SAGE Boulder.ÌýPresent your startup idea to a group of local business advisors who will provide feedback and volunteer time to help you take the next step toward spinning out.ÌýContact Susan Strong atÌýsusan@innosphere.org.
- Innosphere.ÌýAn accelerator specifically-designed for science-based startups, provides entrepreneurial education, advisors, access to capital, connections to startup service providers, and introductions to strategic corporate partners.
- Catalyze CU.ÌýCatalyze CU is Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê’s equity-free, summer-long startup accelerator that combines mentorship, funding and a dedicated co-working space.
- Advanced Industries Accelerator.ÌýCompete for of up to $150,000 from Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT).ÌýA partial match (1:3) is required.
- SBIR/STTR.Ìý provide grant funding to your startup to advance technology with high potential for commercialization.ÌýAwards typically range from $150,000-$200,000 in Phase I and $600,000 to $2,000,000 in Phase II.
View More Off-Campus Opportunities & Events
As an inventor, you willÌýreceive a share of the university’s revenue from licensing your invention.
When Venture Partners licenses an invention, the university may receive revenue in return, in the form of royalties, feesÌý²¹²Ô»å/or liquidated equity.ÌýThis is true for licenses to both established companies and startup companies.ÌýAfter direct patent expenses are recovered, and any joint owners of the innovation receive their share, revenue is distributed as follows:
- 25% to inventor(s)/creator(s), personally
- 25% to the lab(s) of the inventor(s)/creator(s)
- 25% to the Chancellor; currently this is used to fund applications to the Lab Venture Challenge and other commercialization grants/gifts
- 25% to Venture PartnersÌýto fund education, mentorship, patent, and funding resources for campus innovators
The IRS has issued a Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) that may have a significant impact on income tax reporting for royalty payments received by faculty inventors. The university provides a Form 1099 each year to faculty receiving these payments.
To manage potential conflicts of interest, make sure to include relevant details of your consulting, third-party employment,Ìý²¹²Ô»å/or startup in your DEPAÌýif you want to consult or work for a company, or start your own company.ÌýA separate management plan may also be needed (this will be determined after your DEPA is submitted).ÌýFor guidance and questions, please contact Conflicts of Interest and Commitment (COIC) at coi@colorado.edu.Ìý
Add the Standard Addendum for Consulting and Third Party Employment to your consulting agreement or employment agreement with the company.ÌýThis addendum ensures that your third party activities do not conflict with your obligations to the university.
Venture Partners offers several opportunities for you to find licensees for your innovations. Company contacts through research collaborations, theÌýDestination Startup® showcase event, and personal connections often serve as the primary source of licensees. Our customer discovery programs Starting Blocks and Research-to-MarketÌýwill also get you out of the lab and talking with companies.Ìý
In addition, your licensing manager at Venture Partners will help you assess when your innovation is ready to market directly to companies and will then bring in our Business Development AssociateÌýNicole Forsberg for outreach efforts.
If you want to form a startup, you will need to license your innovation to your startup:
- (Most) startups complete aÌýStartup Option AgreementÌýprior to executing a license. The option ensures that the startup has an exclusive period—1 year and extendable to 2 years—during which to license the innovation.ÌýThe option period provides the startup an opportunity to seek early milestones and traction before determining whether to move ahead with a license.Ìý
- Please see our Licensing for Entrepreneurs &ÌýStartups page to learn about Licensing withÌýEASE® (Express Agreement for Startup Entrepreneurs), which is an investor-approved, pre-negotiated deal that makes licensing fast and easy!