Commercialising research and IP: from lab result to business
A strong result is not yet a business. We help research teams and inventors test the market, understand their options and take the first commercial steps. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Who this is for
For academics, research leads, inventors and technical founders sitting on something promising: a patent, a prototype, a dataset or a method. You are good at the science. What you need is someone who has run a business to ask who would pay, and for what.
Where research struggles to become a business
A result, not a product
The paper is out and the data is strong, but nobody has said who would pay, what they use today, or what the first version you would sell actually is.
Unclear who owns what
Your employment terms, funder conditions, co-authors and past collaborators can all touch ownership. Teams often discover the question late, when an investor or partner suddenly asks for the answer.
Publishing before protecting
Sharing a result in a paper or at a conference before taking advice can limit what you can protect later. Many researchers only learn this once the disclosure has already happened.
Spin out, licence or partner
Forming a company, licensing to an existing one and partnering are different paths with different work, money and control. Most teams choose by instinct because nobody laid out the trade offs.
Taking the science towards a customer
Scope &
Strategy
We help you test the commercial case: who the customer is, what they pay for today, what the first product might be, and which route suits you. We say plainly where you need a patent attorney or solicitor.
About Scope & StrategySystems &
Solutions
We build the working business around the science: a simple pipeline of interested parties, records that hold up to scrutiny, a tidy data room, and a website and materials a partner or funder will look at.
About Systems & SolutionsSecurity &
Support
We keep unpublished research and IP protected, with access limited to named people, a separate space for each partner or funder, safe sharing with outsiders and records showing who saw what and when.
About Security & SupportQuestions people ask
How do I commercialise university research in the UK?
Begin with your university's enterprise or technology transfer office, who usually hold the rules on ownership and revenue share. Test demand with likely customers early, then weigh a spin out, a licence or a partnership. Take legal advice on IP before you disclose or sign anything.
What is the difference between a patent and other types of IP?
A patent protects a new invention and is granted by a national office such as the UK Intellectual Property Office. Copyright, trade marks, registered designs and trade secrets protect different things. Which matter depends on what you have made, so check UK IPO guidance and speak to a patent attorney.
Can I publish my research before applying for a patent?
Often, public disclosure before filing can damage your ability to patent, because an invention generally has to be new. Rules differ between countries. Speak to a patent attorney before you publish or present, and read the UK IPO guidance. Even a talk or poster can count as disclosure.
Who can help me get my research to market?
Start with a conversation. Tell us what you have and where you are stuck, and we will give an honest view on the commercial side, including where you will need your enterprise office, an IP specialist or a funder such as Innovate UK. You decide what comes next.
Talk to us about commercialising research and ip.
You tell us what is going on. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and if we cannot, we will say so.