Re:How to spin your scientific research out of a university ...
by probst on Thursday October 29, 2020 @12:52PM
(#24932510)
You _can_ negotiate with tech transfer offices, but it might not lead to much.
We have been fighting with ours for ~8 years now. The terms keep getting worse. I think all told, and if I were to repeat it, I would certainly scrap the IP I made in those early days and start fresh when starting the company. Like they mention in the article, chances are you'll pivot a number of times anyway, making the IP largely irrelevant, but you'll still have given up significant equity for it, and likely have a difficult shareholder onboard for life.
(edit: at least this is my anecdotal evidence, and what I gather from some other people having interacted with my particular tech transfer office...)
We have been fighting with ours for ~8 years now. The terms keep getting worse. I think all told, and if I were to repeat it, I would certainly scrap the IP I made in those early days and start fresh when starting the company. Like they mention in the article, chances are you'll pivot a number of times anyway, making the IP largely irrelevant, but you'll still have given up significant equity for it, and likely have a difficult shareholder onboard for life.
(edit: at least this is my anecdotal evidence, and what I gather from some other people having interacted with my particular tech transfer office...)