echnology transfer services are defined through the process of efficiently exchanging new technologies between two entities for the purpose of further development and commercialization. Because countries worldwide are placing a greater emphasis on developing their health care industry, health care research institutes, such as the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), must access this global market through the commercialization of biomedical research. This process allows industrial partners to develop these early stage technologies into finished products and to market them for public use around the world.
While research institutes develop new ideas and innovative products, they need reliable technology transfer services to facilitate a smooth and efficient technology transfer licensing process. As a research institute, UNMC depends on on the services of its own technology transfer office, UNeMed.

The Technology Transfer Services Offered By UNeMed Involve the Following Steps:

* UNeMed staff first identifies and evaluates the potential intellectual property and market of new inventions developed at UNMC,

* Intellectual property protection is then sought for eligible innovations with the help of in-house patent attorneys,

* An intellectual property management and commercialization strategy is formulated in order to find suitable industry partners to further develop the protected inventions, and

* Marketing the biomedical research technology eventually leads to agreements with industry partners, such as therapeutic patent licensing agreements, with industrial partners.

Reasons Why Academic Research Institutes Would Use Technology Transfer Services Include:

* To gain recognition and to promote technologies and innovations developed at the institution,

* To attract corporate interest in terms of sponsoring research agreements and giving support for clinical trials in a particular research area,

* To generate revenue from licensing activity of university-developed inventions and technologies,

* To stay up-to-date with federal rules and regulations regarding licensing and commercialization of biomedical research, and

* To get assistance in negotiating contracts and agreements with partners in order to obtain licenses, mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations.

In addition to the benefits enjoyed by academic research institutions, the ultimate benefit of technology transfer is the improved health enjoyed by the general public that is made possible through the use of the products that reach the marketplace. Another significant advantage of technology transfer is that it facilitates the use of specific technology in multiple fields, therefore lowering the costs of development. For example, a technology developed for the treatment of cancer may also be licensed for the development of antibacterial therapeutic applications. Therefore, the technology transfer process can help industry reduce the costs incurred during research and development.

Thus, technology transfer is a mutually beneficial process for the inventors, the university, the commercial partners, and the end users.