Announcement: New Name for Commercialization Office (formerly OCED/OTD)

OTC-name-change
June 5, 2018
By Brock

To: Campus Faculty, Students and Staff
From: Judith Cone, Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

I am pleased to announce a shorter name for the Office of Commercialization and Economic Development (OCED). Starting June 5, it will become the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC).

We are updating the name to better reflect what this office does to support faculty, staff and students as they translate research and important ideas into products and services that benefit people in North Carolina and around the world.

The Office of Technology Commercialization manages all aspects of University intellectual property (IP) as it works to:

–Evaluate new discoveries and ideas.
–Assess and protect University IP.
–Perform patent and market landscape analysis.
–Market and license UNC-Chapel Hill technologies to industry and startup companies.
–Provide support for IP-related contracts, writing, filing and protecting patent applications, material transfer agreements (MTAs) and confidential disclosure agreements (CDAs).
–Ensure compliance with University and government regulations.
–Assist UNC-Chapel Hill startup ventures with funding, mentorship, leadership formation and securing space.
–Administer proof-of-concept grants and startup investment funds.
–Structure partnerships that bring University research to market.

The Office of Technology Commercialization is part of the Vice Chancellor’s Office for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, which leads Innovate Carolina, the University-wide initiative for innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). The Innovate Carolina team and its partners within the I&E campus network provide faculty, students, staff and alumni with the tools and resources they need to put important ideas to use for the public good.

The OTC website URL has been updated to reflect the name change and can now be accessed at otc.unc.edu.

Sincerely,

Judith Cone
Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development