Commercialise your IP

Commercialising IP is the process you undertake to get your products or services into the market place.

Your strategy depends on your business

How you commercialise your IP depends on your particular IP, your circumstances, business capabilities, understanding of the market and your ability to generate finance.

Licensing is the most common commercialisation method, but it is just one of are many options for taking your IP to the market place. You need to consider questions such as:

Do you want to commercialise in-house or with a partner?
Do you want to manufacture, market or sell your product?
Do you want to outsource?

There are also different issues to consider when commercialising to a world market.

Traps to avoid

Regardless of whether you decide to commercialise in-house or with a partner, be aware of the two most common commercialisation traps:

Failing to maintain confidentiality about your IP
Failing to secure ownership of your IP.

Summary of key concepts in commercialisation

Commercialisation is the process of getting your IP to market.
You can commercialise on your own, through a partnership or a combination of the two.
There are different issues to consider when commercialising in Australia and internationally.
Make sure, regardless of how you commercialise your IP, you maintain confidentiality arrangements with all parties.
There are a number of options available when commercialising with partners.
In licensing, the owner might give up the right to commercialise, but not the ownership of the IP itself.
Exclusive licences are the most common commercialisation mechanism used.
There are a number of shades of exclusivity - product, field, territory restrictions or a combination of these.
Licences include trade mark licences and franchises.
Assignment is not licensing, it involves transferring or selling the IP - the owner retains no rights to the IP.
Other mechanisms for commercialising IP are a start-up company involving a venture capitalist or a joint venture with other parties or established companies.
Royalties are payments associated with licences and they can be calculated in a number of ways.

Further support

Commercialisation Australia is an initiative of the Australian Government which provides assistance and resources to accelerate the business building process for small to medium enterprises.

Last Updated: 13/12/2011

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