Foley proudly sponsored the 9th Annual NanoBusiness Conference held in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Water Innovations Alliance Conference in Chicago. This year’s NanoBusiness Conference featured discussions on:
- Innovations in nanotechnology
- Creating an ecosystem for nanotechnology commercialization
- Environmental, health and safety
- Nanomedicine
NNI’s Revised Commercialization Strategy: Know the Risks Involved to Safeguard Your IP
The pending National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategic Plan revision would offer a greater share of the $1.8 billion projected budget on the transfer of new technologies into the commercialization path to nanotechnology and cleantech innovation. Increased support of university-industry collaboration has been slated as a possible avenue of such acceleration.
So as not to jeopardize your IP rights, interested parties should understand the requirements and risks in leveraging this new avenue of funding. Foley IP and business lawyers, along with special guests Mark Kaczor, Senior Technology Manager at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Neil Kane, President of Advanced Diamond Technologies, and Stephen Wasko, Principal and Owner of Wasko Associates, offered an interactive discussion addressing strategies for safeguarding your IP as you leverage NNI funding opportunities to reach the marketplace.
Topics addressed included:
- Setting up subsidiaries or other structures to take advantage of government grant and project opportunities
- Business innovation grants and restrictions by governmental regulation
- Federal regulations under the Bayh-Dole Act concerning IP and licensing rights for federally funded projects
- Working with universities/other research centers and their tech transfer offices
- Negotiating the deal (thinking of the short–term and the long-term strategies)
- Reasonable licensing and royalty structures
Moderator:
- Dr. J. Steven Rutt, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Panelists:
- Mark Kaczor, JD, CLP, Senior Technology Manager, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Neil Kane, President, Advanced Diamond Technologies
- Sven Riethmueller, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
- Stephen G. Wasko, Principal and Owner, Wasko Associates
For more information, please visit the NanoBusiness Alliance Conference Web site.