Medical technology transfer: the inventor's perspective

Technology transfer can be a difficult and frustrating experience for an inventor, one with a questionable outcome despite tremendous effort. A university-based inventor may find that there is a "technology transfer office" at his or her institution, but that it is poorly equipped to patent and license inventions. In such a case, the inventor may have to play a particularly active role in the patenting process and, especially, the marketing process. Furthermore, university-based inventors may find themselves caught up in issues of academic freedom and potential conflicts of interests. There are often no role models for entrepreneurial activity at a university, and as a result many inventors have had to leave their university positions to pursue financial gain from their inventions. When licensing inventions to companies, the "NIH syndrome" can be extremely frustrating. It is often difficult for the inventor to communicate his or her certain knowledge that the invention solves a specific problem perfectly. Also, an inventor may find that even if a company is interested and wishes to license the invention it may ultimately have little or no competence in the subject area and, as a result, the invention never finds its way to commercial production. Nonetheless, the rewards can be well worth the effort. If a successful license is reached and the device goes into production, there may be substantial personal financial reward for the inventor. If the university's patent policy is enlightened, a portion of the royalty income may support ongoing and future activities in the inventor's research laboratory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)