The University continues to move forward with changes made to its Patent Foundation, UVAPF, in hopes of increasing revenue and conversion of patents to licensing deals.
"The big change is that the University will, in fact, be supporting the annual operating costs of the UVAPF," Vice President of Research Tom Skalak said at a Board of Visitors meeting earlier this month. With University funding, University officials and UVAPF now will collaborate on all research projects from beginning to end, when they may be licensed to private vendors.
In the past, the patent foundation was financially self-sufficient but could only pursue so many innovations per year, said Erik Hewlett, Medical School senior associate dean of research. At times, he explained, the foundation needed to provide cash up front but was unable to do so. With the University's financial support, though, Hewlett said the foundation can "build better relationships and will be able to get more things done and generate more revenue."
UVAPF hopes that the new partnership will show future patent and commercial partners that it is open to collaboration, UVAPF Interim Executive Director Miette Michie said.
"This means [industries] will hopefully come to us instead of going to another university," she added.
Revenue generated from technological commercialization partly will go back to the University through individual departments or centers that contributed to the particular discovery or breakthrough behind the patent.
"I think that's very important," Skalak said, "because it sends an important philosophical message that says we support the environments that create new innovations."
Both Michie and Hewlett said these changes will not alter a great deal of the current foundation's structure, however, as it will continue to exist independently as a University-related organization.\n"It's just that the relationship will be different operationally than it has been in the past," Hewlett said, adding that it now will be structured more like other foundations, he explained.
Though the financial partnership is recent, some successes have already been made, such as a co-managed innovation fund with Johnson & Johnson, Skalak said.
Though there is a great deal of optimism among UVAPF officials and many University leaders about the changes, others have remained skeptical. The Daily Progress reported Monday that Board of Visitors Member Randal Kirk told the paper, "As a business proposal, no one would invest in this."
In response to Kirk, Hewlett said it is important to recognize that the patent foundation "is not a business that we're out trying to raise money for." In an e-mail to The Cavalier Daily yesterday, Kirk declined to comment about the issue.
Hewlett explained that it is important to use the new knowledge gained from patent projects to benefit "the society that is paying for the research" through foundations, individual donors or government grants.
"We want to be thinking about how can we apply these [discoveries] to something that's useful," he said.
Skalak agreed, adding that although commercial success is important, there are other more important goals, such as attracting new faculty and staff or increasing student opportunities for hands-on research experiences.
To help oversee the recent changes, Skalak also explained that the University has created a new position - executive director of technology transfers and ventures - the role of which will be to provide a "face to the University for outside partners," while also ensuring that all ventures "support the University's mission"
Read More
Honor Committee considers member probation policy for absenteeism
By Lexie Stadler | 2 days agoThe proposal raised questions about its alignment with the Committee’s Constitution, specifically regarding representative voting rights..
Virginia allowed to purge 1,600 voter registrations days before election
By Merrill Hart | 2 days agoYoungkin called for these removals Aug. 7 — right before the 90-day “quiet period” mandated by the National Voter Registration Act.
Students weigh in on America’s future after Trump victory
By Thomas Baxter and Grace Thrush | 3 days agoThe buildup to the historic election, dominated by President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race in July, was mired with unknowns.
