The University of South Florida in Tampa (USF) has announced a ground-breaking Revenue Incentive Patent Cost Sharing Program for their university inventors. The Revenue Incentive program, one of the first of its kind among U.S. universities, provides a way for USF innovators to invest in the future of the inventions resulting from their research.
The university has launched a one-year pilot program to provide their researchers with the opportunity to increase their share of income generated from the licensing of their inventions. Inventors who participate will pay a portion of the direct costs incurred by the university for protecting, maintaining, licensing, and preserving the invention’s patent rights. In exchange, inventors will receive additional revenue from the licensing of their inventions.
“We are excited to be a pioneer in employing this innovative program to promote faculty involvement and allow our inventors to benefit financially from their discoveries,” said Valerie McDevitt, assistant vice president for Patents & Licensing at USF. “Our goal is to engage our faculty, who are our most valuable asset, and to lead the way with new opportunities to support the work of our researchers.”
“While not all university inventions will be eligible for the program, many will,” added McDevitt, “and the potential return on investment to those inventors could be substantial, based on the commercialization of their technology, and provide a significant benefit to the inventors who participate.”
“We strive to create an innovative culture at USF and to advance programs that incentivize and accelerate the advancement of our research and technologies,” said Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior vice president for Research & Innovation. “I believe the Revenue Incentive program will be a positive venture for our inventors and could also serve as a model for other universities.”
Details at http://www.research.usf.edu/dpl/revenue-incentive.asp
