NORMAN, OKLA. – New standards for intellectual property options for corporate-sponsored research initiated at the University of Oklahoma are designed to bridge academic research and workforce development with corporate innovation to drive economic development and technological advances in the state.
“In our position as the state’s flagship institution, one of the University of Oklahoma’s core traditions is to harness breakthrough research for the benefit of society,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “These new standards will amplify our efforts to leverage world-class OU research talent with private industry expertise to accelerate transformative discoveries that move our state forward.”
“The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents are proud to support the university’s implementation of flexible intellectual property terms that will help translate our discoveries into real-world market-based solutions advance innovation and economic prosperity in the state,” said OU Board of Regents Chairman Mike Cawley.
The changes to OU’s IP terms are in response to a component of the Lead On, University Strategic Plan that calls for ensuring “flexible and efficient intellectual property policies and processes that make the faculty and staff competitive when seeking the support of the private sector, or when seeking to patent and license inventions.”
OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships Tomás Díaz de la Rubia said the approach is modeled after top-tier public universities, including those in the Association of American Universities.
Díaz de la Rubia says their ultimate goal is to create an environment that translates OU research and creative activity into solutions that impact society and that are both effective and efficient.
“We believe these new options and the flexibility they afford will prove to be very advantageous for both our faculty and students and for the private-sector corporations we engage with,” he said. “This new flexibility is expected to result in greatly enhanced growth of corporate and other private-sector sponsored research at OU. We look forward to greatly increasing the ease with which the community outside the gates of OU can partner with the university.”
More information about OU’s new IP options for corporate-sponsored research are available via the corporate portal on the OU VPRP website at ou.edu/research.
