FAQ – Questions frequently asked by our researchers

For any further questions, feel free to contact us!

1. What commercialization process does Univalor use?

The process of commercialization of research results describes the various stages a project has to go through to achieve commercial exploitation by an existing business or a business specifically created for the purpose. Univalor has developed its own process, methods and tools to evaluate the commercial potential of inventions and to support researchers who choose to commercialize their research results.

 Commercialization process

2. What should I do if I believe that my research results have commercial value?
Get in touch with the research office of your institution. You’ll meet with a professional who will advise you and let you know whether or not you should make a confidential invention disclosure.

3. What is an invention disclosure?
A invention disclosure is a confidential document prepared by a researcher when he or she believes that his or her research results represent some commercial value. When the document is finished, the researcher must provide the invention disclosure to the research office of his or her institution. The invention disclosure includes the following major elements: a description of the invention and the targeted applications, the names of all the inventors who participated in the creation of the invention and the percentage of their intellectual contribution. The research office usually assists the researchers in completing a confidential invention disclosure.

4. Will my research results remain confidential?
Confidentiality is essential to any commercialization undertaking. Whether from Univalor or one of its member institutions, each of the persons supporting researchers in the commercialization process signed, when they were hired, a confidentiality agreement in which they undertook to respect the confidential nature of projects submitted to them.

5. What happens when my invention disclosure is turned over to Univalor?
When your invention disclosure is ready, the research office of your institution takes care of passing it on to Univalor. A Univalor professional will then get in touch with you to arrange to meet with you (and your inventor colleagues) to discuss the research results you have obtained and, if necessary, to clarify certain aspects of the disclosure. Most of the time, a representative of the research office of your institution also takes part in this first meeting. Next, the Univalor professional will coordinate analysis of your invention disclosure and will help you throughout the commercialization process. From the day that Univalor considers that your invention disclosure is complete enough to proceed with its analysis, it will have 90 days to evaluate the commercialization potential of the invention, define the nature of its intervention and inform you, and your institution, of its decision.

6. How does Univalor analyze the inventions?
Univalor proceeds to a first analysis of inventions using internal analysis tools specifically designed for this purpose. At this stage, a professional studies your invention disclosure. Univalor’s analytical tools allow study of four aspects of the invention: (1) the scientific and technological characteristics, (2) the market potential, (3) the business opportunity and (4) the pertinence relative to Univalor’s mission. A meeting between the inventors and Univalor professionals is an important part of the analysis. The results of the analysis are then presented to a plenary group of Univalor professionals. Depending on the commercial potential of the invention, Univalor may choose to deepen its analysis by calling on outside professionals who will provide their opinions under a seal of confidentiality.

7. What happens when an invention is accepted for commercialization?
Following rigorous analysis of the invention, if it is accepted, the Univalor commercialization professional in charge of the file launches the process of project commercialization. This normally includes diligent verification of intellectual property titles, the supervision or preparation of various agreements (assignment of rights, revenue sharing) and the commercialization activities in which the researcher may be called upon to participate.

8. When may I publish my research results?
The steps involved in publication and commercialization of research results are compatible and can be carried out at the same time. However, in order to preserve the full commercial value of an invention in international markets, the filing of a patent request must precede publication of the results. Univalor pays the costs related to patents of inventions accepted for commercialization by them.

9. Must I assign my intellectual property rights for my research results to be commercialized?
Yes. If you wish your research results to be commercialized, you must assign your intellectual property rights to your institution. Then your institution will turn over the rights to a firm operating for this purpose managed by Univalor, so that the commercialization plan can be undertaken. However, you will have the right to part of the revenues from commercialization, in accordance with the policy regarding intellectual property in force in your institution. You will retain the rights to use the results in your teaching and your research within your institution.

10. Who profits financially from the commercialization of research results?
The researchers and the institutions involved benefit from the commercialization revenue. This revenue is distributed according to the revenue sharing agreement between the institutions and researchers in place prior to commercialization. The researchers are free to dispose as they wish of their part of the profits created by commercialization of a research outcome.

11. What are the various commercialization channels?
In most cases, commercialization of an invention is done by means of a license provided to an established business. Such a license is a contract accorded by the holder of the intellectual property rights of an invention to a third party in order to permit the latter to exploit the invention. In other cases, the invention can be the keystone for creation of a new company (derivative company or spin-off) dedicated to commercial exploitation of the technological invention concerned.

12. What’s the difference between Univalor, venture capital companies, and organizations providing grants and subsidies?
Univalor is neither a venture capital company nor an organization that provides grants and subsidies. Univalor is a commercialization company whose mandate is to manage the assets related to the results of the research of its member institutions. The intellectual property of the inventions is the major asset that Univalor has for commercialization purposes.

13. Why choose Univalor?
The researcher who chooses to entrust the commercialization of his or her invention to Univalor benefits from the expertise of a team of multidisciplinary professionals dedicated to commercialization of the results of university research. Univalor teamwork is directed to achieving tangible objectives. Each team member contributes his or her expertise, business contacts and creativity to maximize the chances for each invention accepted to be transferred to industry and commercialized.