INVENTORS GUIDE -An introduction to working with IP innovation at Aarhus University TTO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INVENTORS GUIDE -An introduction to working with IP innovation at Aarhus University TTO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 2 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Nis Kjær Weibel Head of Business Development, TTO Research is the core competence of a university, but to create societal impact from this research, technology transfer is of essential importance. The Business Development Team is ready to support and guide you when commercia INVENTORS GUIDE 3 The Inventors Guide outlines the essential elements of technology transfer at Aarhus University (AU) and Central Denmark Region (CDR). This guide is provided to answer the most common questions we typically receive from our research community and provides a broad overview of the 4 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Photo on front page: Lise Balsby, AU Communication Guide printed in 2022 - Created by TTO Business Development INVENTORS GUIDE 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OVERVIEW 6 THE PROCESS 10 10 STEPS TO COMMERCIALISATION 12 HOW CAN I HELP? 15 PART 2 - INVENTION DISCLOSURE & ASSESSMENT 20 ASSESSMENT OF AN INVENTION DISCLOSURE 23 PART 3 - OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 24 PATENTS AND 6 AARHUS UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OVERVIEW What is technology transfer? Technology transfer refers to the process by which new inventions are commercialised and brought to market for the benefit of society as a whole. This is done through formal licensing or sale of Intellectual Property Rig 7 INVENTORS GUIDE Marketing your invention to potential licensees Attracting research sponsors Negotiating license agreements Feeling a sense of personal fulfilment Who is AU Technology Transfer Office? Achieving recognition and financial rewards AU Technology Transfer Office is an AU servic 8 AARHUS UNIVERSITY performance obligations and to make financial payments to AU or CDR. duced by means of public funds are utilised for the benefit of Danish society through commercial The net revenue of these payments will be shared between the inventors and the institution. This provides supp 9 INVENTORS GUIDE Simon Glerup Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedicine Co-founder and CSO of Draupnir Bio Co-founder of Muna Therapeutics and Teitur Trophics I have worked closely with the TTO on the IP rights around several inventions, fundraising from InnoExplorer as well as 10 AARHUS UNIVERSITY THE PROCESS How do I work with the Technology Transfer Office? We encourage you to contact the TTO during your early research activities to be aware of the options that will best leverage the commercial potential of your research. TTO staff are trained to assist you with quest INVENTORS GUIDE 11 RESEARCH INITIAL CONTACT INVENTION DISCLOSURE IP PROTECTION MARKETING AND PARTNERING EXISTING COMPANY ESTABLISH SPIN-OUT LICENSE OR SALE DEVELOPMENT REVENUE RE-INVEST IN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT 12 AARHUS UNIVERSITY 10 STEPS TO COMMERCIALISATION 1 RESEARCH Observations and experiments during research activities often lead to discoveries and inventions. An invention is any useful process, machine, composition of matter, or any new or useful improvement of the same. Often, multiple researc INVENTORS GUIDE AND IP PROTECTION The commercial aspects of the project are developed in several ways, eg. by refining the value proposition, putting together a team, creating a business model, drafting a funding plan, and doing market research on the current landscape of competitors. In addition, 14 AARHUS UNIVERSITY The agreement regulates the rights and obligations of the licensee, including financial terms. An option agreement is sometimes used to enable a third party to evaluate the technology for a limited time prior to making a decision about licensing. 8b ASSIGNMENT / SALE An assi INVENTORS GUIDE 15 HOW CAN I HELP? Contact the TTO at tto@au.dk or visit our webpage Au.dk/tto, when you believe you have a scientific or technical observation with potential commercial or research value. If a patent application has not yet been filed, we will give you a non-disclosure agreement 16 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Spin-out STipe Therapeutics Martin Roelsgaard Jakobsen Founder of the spinout STipe Therapeutics in 2018 with his co-founder and company CEO Claus Elsborg Olesen Today, Professor in infection and immunology at Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University How did the idea of 17 INVENTORS GUIDE to driving it forward. Therefore, we do take part in the community and are always ready to help people with advice and how to move an idea into biotech. I foresee that there is a huge potential within Life Science and drug development at Aarhus University, but in order to reach 18 AARHUS UNIVERSITY It has also been a big challenge to find the right competences. Historically, Aarhus University has not been the strongest player within biotech, but this development is turning around, and that makes it much easier to attract great capacities to the environment in Aarhus. Wh INVENTORS GUIDE tivities benefit a great deal from my entrepreneurial mindset. I do bring knowledge from biotech and the innovative community back to my research, where it supports our mindset to understand that here are the unmet needs for improving medical therapies and helping patients. So the en 20 AARHUS UNIVERSITY INVENTION DISCLOSURE & ASSESSMENT This section will outline the essential aspects of the invention disclosure and the subsequent assessment process. It will touch upon subjects such as what an invention disclosure is and why you should submit one. In addition to this, the sec 21 INVENTORS GUIDE Along with the opportunities outlined, you are obligated by Danish law to disclose any inventions you make during your employment at public research institutions. How do I know if my discovery is an invention? You are encouraged to submit an invention disclosure for all inventi 22 AARHUS UNIVERSITY How do I submit an Invention Who is considered an inventor Disclosure? for the purposes of technology transfer? You can download a disclosure form and simple instructions from Au.dk/tto. New invention disclosures are assigned to a member of the TTO Business Development team sh INVENTORS GUIDE 23 ASSESSMENT OF AN INVENTION DISCLOSURE How does the TTO assess Inven- The TTO will work with you to develop the appropriate commerciation Disclosures? Business developers and legal staff at the TTO examine each invention disclosure to review the novelty of the invention, protecta 24 AARHUS UNIVERSITY OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY This section will outline the essential aspects of intellectual property and research considerations. It will touch upon subjects such as what a patent is, and the process of getting one. It is important to emphasise that this is an introdu INVENTORS GUIDE 25 Who owns the rights to discove- Can a student contribute to an ries made while I am consul- invention? ting? The ownership of inventions made while consulting for an outside company depends on the terms of your consulting contract. It is important to clearly define the scope of 26 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Spin-out RadiSurf Mikkel Kongsfelt CEO & Founder PhD Nanoscience Why did you choose to start RadiSurf? What sets you apart from your competitors? I have always had an urge to start and see things grow I tried starting a small company in eighth grade, which did not pan out INVENTORS GUIDE The technological advantage is important, but what really sets us apart is our ability to create scalable solutions for industry. We have only been able to develop our solution due to our excellent team, which consists of the leading experts within this field. Even more importantly, 28 AARHUS UNIVERSITY A final but constant challenge has been the lack of money. A major challenge in Denmark has been the lack of risk-taking investors willing to look further than IT- or medico projects. term collaboration has been great. Every time we have needed adjustments to our agreements INVENTORS GUIDE Finally, our new international investors are bringing a completely new mindset. It is important to work fast also if it means that we make more mistakes. Every time we make a mistake, we learn something new. The benefit of working faster is the significantly reduced ready-to-market 30 AARHUS UNIVERSITY PATENTS AND OTHER LEGAL PROTECTION What is a patent? A patent gives the holder the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing the patented invention. A patent does not necessarily provide the holder any affirmative right to practice a INVENTORS GUIDE technical fields to appraise patent applications. 31 What is the patenting process? Patent applications are generally What is the definition of an in- drafted by an outside patent atventor on a patent, and who torney. The patent attorney will determines this? ask you to review an 32 AARHUS UNIVERSITY The patent attorney files a written response by amending the claims or points out why the examiners position is incorrect. This procedure is referred to as patent prosecution, and it may take more than one correspondence between the examiner and the patent attorney. During the INVENTORS GUIDE Who decides what gets protected? The assigned business developer along with the external patent attorney consider relevant factors in making recommendations about filing patent applications. Based on this recommendation, the head of the TTO ultimately makes the final decision whethe 34 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Will AU/CDR initiate or conti- What is a copyright, and how is nue patenting activity without it useful? an identified licensee? Often the TTO accepts the risk of filing a patent application before a licensee has been identified. After the rights of AU/CDR have been licensed t INVENTORS GUIDE 35 RESEARCH CONSIDERATIONS Will I be able to publish the re- May I use material or intellecsults of my research and still tual property from others in my protect the commercial value research? of my intellectual property? v v Yes, but since patent rights are affected by these act 36 AARHUS UNIVERSITY Will I be able to share materials, research tools, or intellectual property with others to further their research? Yes, but please contact the TTO legal staff as it is important to document items that are to be shared with others and the conditions of use. If you wish to send INVENTORS GUIDE 37 38 AARHUS UNIVERSITY COMMERCIALISATION OF TECHNOLOGY This section will outline the essential aspects of commercialisation and describe the process. It will touch upon subjects, such as how the TTO can help you, what commercialisation strategies to consider, and the different types of agreements y 39 INVENTORS GUIDE The other option is to license or sell the technology to an existing company. This is often the prefered path if the technology is at a more mature stage. When aiming to license or sell the technology the researcher will usually be less involved in the process primarily supplyi 40 AARHUS UNIVERSITY This grant is focused on bringing research projects closer to the market, and the end goal is to establish a spin out company that can continue the development process. You can find guidance regarding innovation funding on our website tto. au.dk. What happens after commercial 41 INVENTORS GUIDE CREATING A SPIN-OUT A spin-out is a new business entity formed to commercialise one or more related intellectual properties. Forming a spin-out is an alternative to licensing the invention to an existing company. In almost all cases the inventor(s) will be the founder(s) of the 42 AARHUS UNIVERSITY How to gain access to the te- Who decides whether to form a spin-out? chnology? When the spin-out is established the TTO will negotiate with a representative of the company to grant a license to technology. It is wise for inventors to have agreements regarding their roles with INVENTORS GUIDE 43 Spin-out VPCIR biosciences Jan Mousing CEO of VPCIR biosciences Responsible for commercialisation at VPCIR biosciences What is the story behind VPCIR? next step in the process was to de- v v Researchers from Aarhus University as well as University of Hong Kong have been stud 44 AARHUS UNIVERSITY petitors? There are several benefits of using VPCIRs technology compared to conventional testing. It requires no large equipment, which makes it cheap and easy to use, while still being both fast and sensitive. It can be used to trace bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella or E INVENTORS GUIDE non-dilutive funding is a proof that someone has looked at your project, and deemed it worthy of an investment it is a quality stamp, you can use to attract larger investments at a later stage. How was the collaboration with the TTO? The collaboration with the TTO has been excellen 46 AARHUS UNIVERSITY How are most licensees found? Many licensees are already known to the inventors - that is why your research and consulting relationships can be very important for successful commercialisation. Licensees are also identified through existing relationships of the TTO staff, since INVENTORS GUIDE 47 LICENSE AND ASSIGNMENT / SALE AGREEMENTS A license is a permission that the owner or controller of intellectual property grants to another party, usually under a license agreement. What is a license agreement? License agreements describe the rights and responsibilities related 48 AARHUS UNIVERSITY What can I expect to gain if my IP is licensed? must be approved by your Head of Department. According to Danish law, a share of any financial return from a license is provided to the inventor(s). In addition to this, most inventors enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that the INVENTORS GUIDE red by the TTO. These agreements describe the terms under which AU/CDR researchers and outside researchers may share materials, typically for research or evaluation purposes. Intellectual property rights can be endangered if materials are used without a proper MTA. Co-financed or co 50 AARHUS UNIVERSITY The Largest Investments in Spinouts from Aarhus University* Company Investor Investment Novo Holdings Lundbeckfonden Emerge Roche Venture Inkef Capital DKK 530 million Novo Holdings Sofinnova Partners Droia Ventures LSP Dementia Fund And more DKK 450 million Novo Seeds INVENTORS GUIDE Company Investor Nordic Alpha Partners Vækstfonden KCK Ltd 51 Investment DKK 108 million DKK 100+ million Smedvig Herfo Canica Invest And more DKK 48 million Novo Seeds EIR Vækstfonden And more DKK 35+ million Lundbeckfonden Emerge DKK 30+ million