Starting a company based on technology invented at UNC should become easier and faster with a new standard licensing agreement.
The university’s technology transfer office developed the Carolina Express License Agreement to offer one set of terms to cover widely divergent deals with minimal negotiation.
Cathy Innes, director of the Office of Technology Development, said the new agreement was a fundamental departure from business as usual.
“The Holy Grail in technology transfer transactions is the elusive ‘standard’ license agreement,†said Innes. “We believe we’ve come up with a set of terms that will work for all UNC start-up licenses that is fair and reasonable to all stakeholders and can be put in place with no negotiation. I don’t know of any other universities that have tried this approach.â€
Innes said she hoped the new agreement would make UNC-based spin-offs attractive to venture-backed investors and other commercialization partners. “Ultimately, that will amplify the impact that Carolina will have in economic development and improving the health and well-being of society,†she said.