Page 18 - 2020 Startup Guide

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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How are FAU faculty, staff, and students involved
in the intellectual property licensing process?
In most ways, faculty, staff, or student involvement in the licensing process is similar to that of any other licensee. However, OTD’s relationship with these individuals becomes more complex when
they want to start a company. The licensing process starts when they disclose their innovation to OTD and continues as they collaborate with the office throughout the life cycle of the innovation. OTD carefully considers their feedback and strives to keep them informed along the way. They are encouraged to recommend leads on potential licensees, to provide input for assessing technical and market feasibility, and
to offer suggestions on which licensing strategy would be best to commercialize the innovation. However, in the case of a FAU start-up, they do not participate in any license agreement negotiations. This approach is based on the principle that FAU faculty, staff, and students cannot represent the company and the university at the same time. Therefore, their role should not include representing the potential licensee or negotiating directly with OTD.
2. How much can I tell potential investors about
the innovation?
OTD understands that FAU start-ups will need to describe the general aspects of an innovation to potential investors in order to generate interest in their company. If the company wants to discuss the details of an innovation prior to securing intellectual property protection through OTD, a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA) can be used to facilitate open discussions and to prevent the loss of intellectual property rights. The start-up’s management or legal counsel typically handles these agreements for discussions of the innovation on behalf of the company. It is important to keep in mind that many investors will not sign CDAs for fear it will constrain them from pursuing related opportunities in the future.