What is a university spin-out and research commercialisation entity?

‘Spin-out’ is the term used to describe a company ‘spinning out’ or leaving a research institute in order to commercialise technological inventions or intellectual property that is developed within that research. 

What is research commercialisation?

‘Research commercialisation’ describes the broader category of taking research outside of a research institute to give it a real world (or commercial) application.

Where to research?

Companies that have been established directly by a public research institute (e.g. Australian AI Institute, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK), California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (US)) or have been founded by a university or government employee, or those who have equity investments from national libraries or universities or licenses technology from a public research institute or university are examples of where research has been taken and commercialised.

Spin-outs are an innovative business concept that are taking the world by storm and have a strong potential of providing valuable products and services to industries all across the globe that are backed by strong public research. It represents a strong collaborative effort between academic staff and the business community to bolster the global economy. There are strong government incentive programs, such as the University Research Commercialisation Action Plan, which aims to invest $AUD2.2 billion in the Australian spin-out industry, and also the Medical Research Commercialisation initiative which aims to provide $AUD450 million over 10 years from 2022-2023 in support funding. There are other global initiatives and research commercialisation funds by different respective governments across the world, and according to Global University Venturing (VUC), university spin-outs all over the world have raised a record figure of USD$39.2 billion. Further, just recently this year, a spin off from the Queen Mary University of London has developed a game-changing new AI-powered video recognition tool, which has the potential to revolutionise the security and crime prevention industry. 

How can Biztech enable university spin-outs and research commercialisation entities?

We work with research institutes (including Group of 8 Universities), spin-outs and corporates engaging with the research sector to help facilitate commercialisation outcomes. 

Spin-outs and research commercialisation start-ups face numerous legal challenges and complexities through their journey to scaling up. This requires expert guidance to effectively navigate. As a spin-out, it is important to form the property entity required for your purposes when you first start-up, and properly allocating shareholder and directorship. These include legal documents such as ESOP agreements, employment agreements, shareholder agreements and more.

Another important aspect is to make sure that the intellectual property rights are secure. The lifeblood of spin-outs are the very concept and development of their products and ideas, and it is important that you are protected. Biztech Lawyers can help you identify any existing gaps and advise you on the best options moving forward.

Biztech Lawyers has enabled start-ups from ground up. We are the official legal partner for the UNSW Founders Program and have extensive experience advising universities. We fully understand your position and obligations to the university as a spin out and the most strategic options for commercializing your research. 

We enable university spin-outs and research commercialisation businesses through:

• Company setup; 
• Regulatory setup, compliance and governance;
• Service and subscription agreements;
• Licensing and distribution agreements;
• Intellectual Property, including trademarks, copyright, IP licenses and assignments;
• Capital raises, VC and crowdfunding;
• Mergers and acquisitions;
• Cybersecurity; and
• Data privacy and Info-Sec.

Before you bring in your first client or customer, make sure you’ve got all the legal concerns ticked off. Talk to any of our expert start-up lawyers today!