Contact

Cory G. Acuff, Ph.D.
Associate Director,
Innovation Gateway
706-542-5682
cacuff@uga.edu
146 Terrell Hall
210 S. Jackson Street
Athens, GA 30602

 

Kevin Wu
Engineering Catalyst,
Innovation Gateway
Startup Program
706-542-2051
kwu@uga.edu
126 Terrell Hall
210 S. Jackson Street
Athens, GA 30602

Innovation Gateway is excited to offer Georgia Startup License. This program aims to better position UGA startup companies for success by providing expert business opportunity assessments and corporate mentoring, while also offering preferred option and licensing terms, discounted incubator lease rates, and priority support services.

The talented faculty and staff at the University of Georgia have proven their success in generating new intellectual property as a product of research and other activities. The University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) owns that intellectual property and is responsible for managing it for the public benefit, including by protecting and licensing new technologies for industry partners to develop, market, and sell products leveraging these technologies. UGARF accomplishes this through the staff at Innovation Gateway.

UGA startup companies are important licensing partners, particularly to help ensure early stage technologies reach their full potential. The University fully supports the development of startups that commercialize technologies emerging from University research, as well as those founded by UGA faculty and staff seeking to commercialize other technologies.

Recognizing the unique challenges that UGA startup companies face, this program provides a framework in two phases to maximize a startup’s likelihood of success and enhance its ability to attract substantive external investment, while unlocking access to express agreements and preferred terms at each phase.

Phase 1

Gap Analysis and Express Option. Innovation Gateway conducts a thorough assessment of the startup’s readiness and market opportunity, reports identified deficiencies, and works collaboratively with the startup as it creates an Action Plan to address deficiencies and increase readiness. The startup’s completion of Phase 1 makes the express option agreement available, which if desired at any time offers the benefit of excluding competitors from the patent rights of interest.

Phase 2

Action Plan, Express IP License & Startup Benefits. The startup participates in a variety of Innovation Gateway programs, including the I-Corps program, to fulfill its action plan and prepare to apply for substantive external funding. The startup’s completion of these requirements unlocks the express license agreement, which reduces the overall time and expense spent on negotiations and provides favorable terms and simplified costs. In addition, a startup that completes all Phase 2 requirements gains access to discounted incubator lease rates and priority access to Startup Program services.

A UGA startup company is eligible to participate in this program if:

• at least one UGA employee is a founder who holds equity in the startup company; or at least one UGA employee is a named inventor of the patent rights to be licensed and commercialized by the startup company.