PARTEQ innovations-Process FAQs

[FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS]

Research & Inventors • Assessment • Protection • Commercialization • FAQs • Inventors Gallery

Why commercialize?

Do you have to commercialize your IP?

Who pays? What's in it for PARTEQ?

What is an invention?
What is technology transfer?

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

What are research contracts?

What is a spinoff company?

Where can I find commercialization funding?

How long does commercialization take?

Why commercialize?
Most inventions created at Canadian universities are based on research primarily sponsored by some form of government funding. At Queen's, for example, researchers conducted nearly $150 million worth of research last year, much of it funded through programs sponsored by the Government of Canada. Protection and commercialization by PARTEQ or by researchers themselves allows Queen's to fulfil its mission to transfer the results of intellectual inquiry to the public, while ensuring that proceeds from these publicly funded discoveries are returned to the university and its inventors.
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Do you have to commercialize your IP?
No. Under the terms of the faculty Collective Agreement, no creator is obliged to engage in commercial exploitation of his or her IP. You are free to publish or use other means to place your IP in the public domain. However, publication prior to applying for a patent can jeopardize the ability to protect and commercialize your IP. Please note, however, that protection does not preclude publication.

Learn more about your IP rights and obligations .

Who pays? What's in it for PARTEQ?
In most cases, value – usually in the form of patent protection and financial and business management -- needs to be added to your IP before it can be commercialized. PARTEQ manages this value-added process and covers the costs of protecting and licensing your IP. We work with you to develop and manage a commercialization strategy that makes the most of the benefits and returns of your IP. As a not-for-profit organization, PARTEQ ensures that commercial value created through your research is returned to you, the inventor(s), and to Queen's, through revenue-sharing agreements. Since its inception in 1987, PARTEQ has returned more than $15 million to Queen's and its inventors.
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What is an invention?
" ‘Invention' means any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter."
-- Section 2, Canadian Patent Act. Inventions are generally protected by patents.

What is technology transfer?
In its broadest context, technology transfer is the transmission of research and study at institutions of higher learning to the public. However, the term has come to be known more specifically as the formal transfer of research discoveries into commercial entities for development.
>>View Queen's Policy on Technology Transfer

What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property, simply defined, is any form of knowledge or expression created with one's intellect. It includes such things as inventions, literary, artistic, musical or visual works, computer software, trademarks, and "know-how."
>> Learn more about IP

What are research contracts?
Research contracts/research agreements are agreements negotiated with the university to provide research on a project. Research contracts normally include a work plan, deliverables, conditions related to publication of results, clauses related to ownership of intellectual property and its commercialization. All research contracts require the approval of the head of the department/academic unit and must be signed by the Director of Research Services or designate prior to implementation.

From time to time the university enters into sub-contracts with other institutions/organizations to perform research under a research contract where it is deemed desirable to use external expertise. Where the sub-contract involves a company in which the researcher has a personal interest, the university requires that the sponsor be aware of the sub-contract, that the university and the company enter into a contractual agreement and that the company demonstrate it has third party liability insurance.

>> Learn more about Queen's research policies
>> Learn more about PARTEQ's place in the research life cycle at Queen's

What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive monopoly to make, use or sell a claimed invention for a limited period of time.
>> Learn more about patents
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Why patent?
A commercialization partner, or licensee, is unlikely to assume the risk of commercializing your discovery without the monopoly that a patent provides. A patent ensures a return on the considerable investments of time and money that are necessary to bring your technology to market.

Patent costs
Ballpark costs for filing a patent application vary, but generally can range from $5,000 - $20,000. Additional costs arise during prosecution and maintenance. All of these costs are borne by PARTEQ, which recovers its expenses from a licensee, and/or from future licensing revenues generated by the patented technology. Back Back to top

Patent lifespan
In Canada, a patent lasts 20 years from the date of application, for applications filed since 1 October 1989. In the United States, the term is also 20 years from the date of the first filed U.S. application; however, for applications filed since 29 May 2000, the term may be extended based on any delays in issuance of the patent caused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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Patent vs publish
Protecting your intellectual property (IP) need not prevent you from publishing your research results! However, publicly disclosing your results without initiating protection may prevent you from patenting later on. If you are planning to present your research results to the public, you may wish to think about seeking patent protection beforehand. Please contact us if you are planning to publish, present, post, or otherwise make public your IP.
>> All about public disclosure

What is a license?
A license is a contract with an external party, giving it the right to make, use, sell, and/or export your technology. Licenses can be exclusive or non-exclusive, and rights can extend to one, some, or all applications or fields of the technology. Since its inception in 1987, PARTEQ has licensed products that led to the formation of 33 companies, including 16 spinoff companies.
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What is a spinoff company?
A spinoff company is a company, or venture, founded by PARTEQ Innovations on the basis of intellectual property developed at Queen's University. Since its inception in 1987, PARTEQ has founded 16 spinoff companies.

Where can I find commercialization funding?
If your discovery is at an early stage of development, there are a number of government programs focused specifically on advancing commercialization of university-based IP. They include:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Proof of Principle (POP) Initiative

• Natural Sciences & Research Council's Idea 2 Innovation (I2I) Program

• Genome Canada

You can also contact Queen's Office of Research Services (ORS)

>>View research funding application deadlines here.
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PARTEQ also has access to four venture funds focused on investing in enterprises formed by Queen's researchers looking to protect, commercialize and market research discoveries.
>> View our venture funds

How long does commercialization take?
There are no hard and fast rules to predict how long it takes to advance a discovery to the marketplace. Generally, however, the time to market for physical science and engineering technologies is considerably shorter than that for life sciences technologies, which must undergo considerable regulatory review.

For example, software developed within the university may be marketable within a year, while a novel chemical entity being developed as a therapeutic drug may require 10 years and millions of dollars of developmental and regulatory approvals before reaching the market.