Facilitating the Commercialization of University Innovation: The Carolina Express License Agreement

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Research Paper

13 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2010

See all articles by Joseph M. DeSimone

Joseph M. DeSimone

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lesa Mitchell

Techstars

Date Written: April 1, 2010

Abstract

As the United States recovers from the most severe recession since the 1930s, efforts to boost economic growth assume paramount importance. This means not only finding ways to spur rapid job creation but also advancing the country’s capacity for innovation. One way to do this is to encourage academic research enterprises to facilitate the transfer and spillover of scientific and technological research into commercial application. In particular, the research laboratories of our nation’s universities are unparalleled sources of dynamic new spin-off and startup companies. These fledgling enterprises in turn have the potential to become high-growth firms. Recent Kauffman Foundation research demonstrates that top-performing new companies are a fertile source of new jobs.

In this paper, we examine an innovative new set of practices associated with the commercialization of university research developed and implemented at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. New standard licensing agreements support and expedite firm formation as an outcome of university-based intellectual property. A committee chaired by one of this paper’s authors developed the licensing agreement. The committee included entrepreneurial UNC faculty members with experience in firm birthing, colleagues from the Office of Technology Development (OTD), venture capitalists from the firm Intersouth Partners, and attorneys from a number of firms that have represented UNC startups. The outcome of these discussions produced the Carolina Express License Agreement.

Keywords: Technology, Tech Transfer, University Research, Spin-Off, Startup, High-Growth, Firm

Suggested Citation

DeSimone, Joseph M. and Mitchell, Lesa, Facilitating the Commercialization of University Innovation: The Carolina Express License Agreement (April 1, 2010). Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1585447

Joseph M. DeSimone

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( email )

102 Ridge Road
Chapel Hill, NC NC 27514
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.chem.unc.edu

Lesa Mitchell (Contact Author)

Techstars ( email )

1828 Walnut, 3rd Floor
Kansas City, MO 64108
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
358
Abstract Views
2,215
Rank
164,696
PlumX Metrics