QUT may offer licensing and start-up opportunities to third parties to commercialise the inventions and innovations that are created by the activities of QUT's researchers, research centres and institutes.
Technology transfer includes the commercialisation of new discoveries and innovations resulting from scientific research conducted at universities to the marketplace. One way that the universities transfer technology is through management, protection and packaging of new innovations. The major steps in this process include:
- the disclosure of innovations;
- patenting the innovation concurrent with publication of scientific research; and
- licensing the rights to innovations to industry for commercial development, or equity investment into a start-up company.
Management of intellectual property, licensing, commercial pathways, negotiations with investors, and the formation of start-up companies from QUT, is provided by qutbluebox ('bluebox'), the technology transfer and commercialisation company for QUT.
bluebox has taken over responsibility for commercialisation from the university's Office of Commercial Services, and is now the single point of contact for all enquiries relating to technology transfer and commercialisation of QUT's intellectual property.