The Expanding Role of the UH Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development

The role of the public university has traditionally been three-fold – instruction, research, and service. The University of Hawaii is adding a fourth component to its mission – to serve as a catalyst for economic development in the state. There are a number of ways in which the University can address its “fourth mission,” but one which the Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development (OTTED) is exploring is that of taking an active role in the commercialization of privately developed technologies.

OTTED’s primary role is to help identify, market and commercialize new university technologies. OTTED was recently approached by a local software developer, requesting assistance in protecting and licensing a new software program that doesn’t quite fit the company’s current product line.

Typically, OTTED seeks out companies to engage as commercialization partners, so this request places OTTED in an unfamiliar position — not quite on the other side of the table but surely not at the same place at the table. On the one hand, OTTED’s role will be similar to one it takes when administering university technologies – to determine the appropriate legal protection required, to determine the market potential for the technology, to determine fair licensing terms, to identify potential licensees and make contact with them, and to negotiate formal licenses to the technology. On the other hand, where OTTED’s role within the university is fairly well established (albeit expanding somewhat in response to the UH’s fourth mission), a number of issues must be addressed with its ostensible partner: what is a fair and equitable royalty-sharing arrangement, how will licensing-related expenses be met, who will have responsibility for technical support, what rights will the parties enjoy in follow-on technologies, etc.

As OTTED seeks to find ways to contribute to the state’s economic success, it must take care not to dilute its efforts and detract from its primary mission – moving the UH technologies into the marketplace. Nonetheless, as promising opportunities present themselves, OTTED will try to respond in a thoughtful and helpful way

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