FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

C4 Releases New Template IICA

for commercialization cooperation

provides a template for commercializing technologies jointly created by researchers at different institutions

Too many cooks won’t spoil the broth if all the cooks understand their responsibilities.

That’s the message of a jointly developed Inter-Institutional Commercialization Agreement (IICA) template released today by C4, the technology transfer consortium that links universities across Southwest Ontario.

The C4 IICA provides a template for splitting up the commercialization work for technologies which were created jointly by researchers at different institutions. It addresses important issues such as: who manages the commercialization activities, what kind of input or approval is to be given by the non-lead (partner) institution, and what happens if a partner fails to contribute financially to the commercialization expenses or wants to withdraw from commercialization.

The C4 IICA will be used at McMaster, Guelph, Waterloo, Western, Windsor, and Wilfrid Laurier universities whenever a technology is jointly created by researchers at more than one C4 institution. Other universities are free to adopt this template agreement.

The C4 IICA is based upon a collaborative approach to commercialization in which one institution takes the lead on commercialization but consults with and engages the partner institution in major decisions, such as patents and licenses. It reflects the standard approach at many C4 institutions, as well as the approach advocated by MATTO, the Massachusetts Association of Technology Transfer Offices.

“The C4 IICA establishes a baseline of expectations for multi-institution commercialization cooperation,” says Elsie Quaite-Randall, executive director of the McMaster Industry Liaison Office. “It is a template that universities across Canada will find useful.”

The new IICA realizes C4’s joint goals of sharing best practices between institutions and reducing the barriers for collaboration between both C4 members and other institutions.

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