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The policy that applies in this case is the College IP policy and the company should be formed through ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s process for establishing spinouts, known as Founders Choice. ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ IP includes patents, designs, know-how, copyright, non-published datasets and other forms of registrable and non-registrable rights. ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's IP policy includes a full definition of IP.

You can learn more about the process of forming a spinout using IP owned by ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and the support available to founders on our pages on founding a spinout company.

While IP created through ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ research is typically owned by the university, in some cases you may own IP related to your research at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and wish to commercialise it. This might include:

• IP that the College has as the inventor but you are continuing to develop at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.
• IP that you created before joining the university but are continuing to develop at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. Note, if your previous employer owns the IP then ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ could manage the transfer and future commercialisation.
• IP that you created as part of an activity unrelated to your research but now overlaps with the research you carry out at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.

Companies based on staff-owned IP are nonetheless considered ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ spinouts if ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s research facilities, enterprising ecosystem or research funding have supported the creation and development of the IP. The policy that applies in this case is the College IP policy and the company should be formed through ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s process for establishing spinouts, known as Founders Choice. You can learn more about the process of forming a spinout and the support available to founders on our pages on founding a spinout company.

Where possible, ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ aims to protect IP arising from its research as a preliminary step before commercialising it. In some cases, however, the insights you wish to commercialise may not involve any IP. ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ considers companies where there is no IP when formed to be spinouts if they are based on research that has been supported by the university's research facilities, enterprising ecosystem, or project funding. The terms that apply in this case are found in the College IP policy and the company should be formed through ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s process for establishing spinouts, known as Founders Choice. You can learn more about the process of forming a spinout and the support available to founders on our pages on forming a spinout company.

If you would like to provide external organisations with consultancy or other commercial services, there's no need to set up a company. Simply use ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's preferred routes ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Projects.

If you intend to work on a private basis to provide consultancy services such as advice, bespoke training, or testing and analysis - then speak to ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants.

The team will work with you and the client to scope the project and negotiate your fee, plus they’ll ensure you (and your IP) are protected with a secure contract and indemnity insurance. What’s more, they handle all the purchasing and billing, saving you time and hassle too - and you can use the ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants logo on any output for the client, providing the credibility that your affiliation with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ brings.

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants charge a small fee for this service, which is added to the client’s invoice. Plus you can choose to take your fees personally, or have them transferred to your F account, to fund your research or other activities.

Alternatively, if your team or facility are looking to offer larger scale projects, as part of your ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ role, such as repeat testing, regular reporting, or complex projects like capacity building – then ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Projects can help.

As well as providing the same support as ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants, the team can also provide project and financial management and reporting for you – leaving your team to get on with ‘the science’. Plus, you can use the ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Projects logo on any output for the client.

A small fee is also charged for this service, and added to the client’s invoice, whilst the fees earnt are transferred to your department.

Read more about the extensive benefits that working with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Consultants and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Projects brings - and the extra responsibilities and restrictions you need to consider if you choose to work with a client directly.

You may want to set up a company that has no connection to your research (e.g. relating to a hobby interest) and does not use ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s facilities, either in the past or in future. This would not be considered an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ spinout.  If in doubt, please talk to your Commercialisation Team.

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s External Interests policy has obligations for all staff to make annual declarations of external interests.   Before embarking on work outside ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, you will need to gain permission from your Head of Department and register it as an external interest. You may also need to submit a waiver for private work form. See the declaration of interests web page for more guidance.

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ does not own IP generated by students in the course of their study or research except in certain special cases. See the IP policy and (PDF) for more information.

The university strongly supports student entrepreneurship and offers students a range of support such as accelerator programmes, advice services, and collaboration spaces, many of which are delivered through the , an entrepreneurship hub for students, staff and recent alumni.

Your students may wish to form a company to commercialise their research or the research of your group, sometimes with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ staff members as directors. While the default position is that students own any IP they generate in the course of their study or research, ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ aims to protect the interests of the university and its staff by applying some exceptions. A student must assign to ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ IP they generate in the course of their study or research if:

• They are an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ employee as well as a student
• The IP builds on IP generated by an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ employee
• The IP was jointly developed with an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ employee
• The IP is subject to an agreement with an external organisation (such as a funder) whereby the IP vests with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ or a third party

Student-led companies that are based on ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ IP or have ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ staff as directors are considered ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ spinouts. The policy that applies in these cases is the College IP policy and the company should be formed through ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s process for establishing spinouts, known as Founders Choice. You can learn more about the process of forming a spinout and the support available to founders on our pages on founding a spinout company and by contacting your faculty commercialisation team.

Your students may wish to form a company to commercialise research by your research group. While the default position is that students own any IP they generate in the course of their study or research, there are some cases where this does not apply. These include cases where a company that funded the research has IP or exploitation rights. See the student intellectual property policy and (PDF) and the terms contained in your sponsorship agreement. If you need further advice on this issue, contact your faculty commercialisation team.

Companies founded by ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ students and alumni sometimes wish to collaborate on research with the university or access consultancy from ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ staff.

For research collaborations, a collaboration agreement will determine IP terms between the company and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, as per any industry research collaboration. If any ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ IP is generated under the collaboration that is required by the startup, this will need to be licensed into the startup. Learn more about how we support your research group to collaborate with industry on our industry research web pages and by contacting your faculty commercialisation team.

If you are a staff member and plan to carry out consultancy for a student-led company, you are strongly advised to have a formal consultancy agreement in place. , the university's consultancy organisation, can help you set up an agreement.

If a student entrepreneur or business director becomes an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ employee, they need to ensure that the appropriate declarations of interests are made to their department (using the waiver for private work form) and that consultancy agreements are put in place if applicable. , the university's consultancy organisation, can help you set up a consultancy agreement.