Changes

University scientists often share their data and materials with business partners and other researchers via material transfer and un-funded research agreements. Even more engaging our the school's industry-sponsored research. Administered by the Office for Technology Commercialization (see below), the program is called the Minnesota Innovation Partnership (MN-IP). This new, unique approach to handling intellectual property has been commended nation-wide, including in a blog post by the White House. For existing patents, there is the ''Try  Buy'' program. This allows companies to take available technologies for a “test run” or use them fee-free (if qualified) to test the viability of the innovation for their company. Should the technology prove viable, the company pays the typical fees. The University was one of the first to prelist these royalty rates and Minnesota companies get a 1% discount. Companies can also do ''Sponsored Research''. Firms highlight what they want studied and can then utilize University resources to conduct their research. Upfront costs are 15k or 15% of research expenditure. A 1% royalty rate is paid out for all resulting revenues.