When you think of IP, do you think of excellent communicators? A study of 272 Brazilian tech transfer offices found that communication skills were one of the biggest predictors of increased licensing revenue.
Good communication helped the TTO offices to guide researchers on the benefits of protection and the timing of scientific publications so as not to mess it up. The TTO offices with good communications kept open the communication channels from the researchers to the office. Having full-time staff focused on building relationships with the research community was a major factor in increasing license revenues.
Businesses also need to do this. Your R&D teams need a clear route to communicate their inventions and why they matter to IP teams. This is essential to build a strong IP position. On the flip side, your IP team, or whoever is responsible for your IP, needs to get out there and build relationships. It is hard for small teams to find the time, but I hope that they are talking to each other anyway!
The second place where the TTO communication skills paid off was at the other end of the IP value chain. Once the IP is in place, the TTO office needs the marketing and communication skills to find someone to license the tech to. Ultimately that’s what turns the IP into licensing revenue.
Businesses may not need to find licensees, but the same skills can drive investment, and investors will do deep diligence on the IP that you bring in. Your business development team may not see themselves as IP players, they should though. They will not be happy if a deal falls apart when the IP can’t cash the cheques that they want it to.
Interestingly, they found that staff with an economics focus had no impact on their model, one more reason for the dismal scientists to be dismal.
Paper - https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.13037