Tech Transfer
Move innovation into the market with rights that are clear.
Tech transfer succeeds when the commercial deal is strong and the underlying rights are clean: who owns what, what's being licensed, what improvements belong to whom, and what happens when the relationship ends. Barnard supports universities, research entities, innovators and commercial partners to structure tech transfer agreements that are workable, defensible, and aligned to commercial realities.
How can we help?
Choose Your Starting Point
What we help you do
Rights clarity (the foundation)
- Background vs foreground IP mapping
- Contributor and inventor documentation
- Assignments, licences, recordals and chain-of-title clean-up
- Confidentiality and protection timing
Commercial terms that hold up
- Licence scope (field-of-use, territory, exclusivity)
- Royalties, fees, milestones and reporting
- Sub-licensing and change-of-control provisions
- Performance obligations and "use it or lose it" mechanics
Improvements and future development
- Who owns improvements and derivatives
- Joint development rules and governance
- Access rights to data, know-how, prototypes and documentation
Publication, confidentiality and dispute resilience
- Publication and disclosure management
- Confidential information protections
- Termination outcomes and post-termination rights
- Dispute prevention: clarity for future teams
Tech transfer doesn't fail because the tech is weak — it fails in the grey areas
The hard conversations are usually the most valuable: improvements, exclusivity, control, publication, sublicensing, and exit outcomes. We help you surface these early and structure terms that stay workable even as relationships change.
How we work (structured, commercial, practical)
Step 1: Define the asset and intended use
What is being transferred/licensed — and how will it be used in the market?
Step 2: Map rights and contributors
We identify what needs documenting so the deal has a clean foundation.
Step 3: Align the commercial deal to the IP reality
We translate business goals into scope, controls, milestones, and workable governance.
Step 4: Close cleanly and keep it runnable
Execution, recordals where needed, and a short summary so teams can run the agreement.
You'll know what you can do, what you can't do, and what happens if the relationship ends.
Related services
This often connects with...
Brand Enforcement
Infringement, counterfeits, takedowns and urgent steps
Copyright
Ownership clarity, permissions and copied content
Domains and Online Identity
Confusing domains, phishing, impersonation, prevention
Licensing and Commercialisation
Licences, assignments, deals and control
Start-ups and Innovation
IP hygiene, developer/contractor ownership, investor readiness
Tech Transfer
Commercialising innovation, collaborations, spin-outs, improvement rights
Trademarks
Registration, portfolios, objections and growth protection
Resources for commercialisation and tech transfer
If the deal is commercial, the rights must be clean
