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U.Va.
Patent Foundation Steps Up Efforts For Inventors
Sept. 13, 1999 -- The University of Virginia
Patent Foundation
recently signed a marketing agreement with Mosaic
Technologies, Inc., signaling a stronger effort to move U.Va.
inventions out of the ivory tower and into the marketplace.
Mosaic,
a technology marketing and development firm in Charlottesville,
will help the Patent Foundation find licensees for tough-to-market
technologies.
"Sometimes
we feel sure that a technology is valuable, but just can't find
the right company to take it to market," said Robert MacWright,
executive director of the Patent Foundation. "We hope that Mosaic's
contacts, especially those in foreign markets, may lead to opportunities
we otherwise would have missed."
Under
the contract between the two organizations, Mosaic would receive
part of the Patent Foundation's share of royalties resulting from
any license that it helps arrange.
The
agreement is similar to one the Patent Foundation signed earlier
this year with the U.Va. Health System Development Office, which
has developed an extensive network of corporate contacts as part
of its efforts to support the U.Va. School of Medicine.
"We
have a long-standing relationship with U.Va. and are enthusiastic
that we can help the Patent Foundation bring U.Va. technologies
to the marketplace," said David Martin, president of Mosaic.
Martin,
an alumnus of U.Va., is also the founder of the Charlottesville
Venture Group, which helps bring small business owners together
with financiers and local business service providers. Mosaic recently
formed M-CAM, a company that helps banks develop a means by which
patents can be valued and used as collateral in making business
loans.
The
Patent Foundation is responsible for the evaluation, protection,
and licensing of inventions made in the course of research at the
University of Virginia. Established in 1977, the Patent Foundation
funnels income from royalties and fees to U.Va. inventors, their
research laboratories, and the Universitys research enterprise.
In just-ended fiscal 1999, the Patent Foundation handled 154 new
technologies and generated nearly $4.2 million in royalties and
fees.
For
more information, call Robert MacWright at (804) 982-0378, or contact
him at rsm7x@virginia.edu.
David Martin may be reached at (804) 979-7224 or dem@mosaictech.com.
Contact:
Charlotte Crystal, (804) 924-6858
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