CurAegis Technologies Inc (fka CRGS)

[allnumbers]

A better perspective on this point would be...

"I do not believe in giving away intellectual property that was developed by the university, but I do believe that universities are not-for-profit public institutions that serve a higher purpose," said William Destler, president of Rochester Institute of Technology.

And for Destler, that purpose includes job creation and economic development. His administration has thrown complex intellectual property agreements out the window. A new program called Corporate R&D at RIT allows companies to work with university laboratories and personnel for a flat upfront fee -- about $10,000 per quarter -- and retain full commercial rights to any intellectual property that develops. The money is divided between the university and the participating faculty and student researchers.

The program has been well received by businesses -- 18 privately funded projects are active at RIT right now. What surprised Destler is how enthusiastic the faculty has been, because they are essentially giving up the chance to get rich quick if the research hits it big. Destler said most of the professors who have worked on research projects funded by government or corporate grants "never get a nickel, and in this case, they get an actual upfront payment."

Even when commercialization is encouraged, there's still the problem of finding the money to go from research concept to product. In the current economy, finding investors willing to finance an untested idea is very difficult.

The Obama administration is considering re-allocating $12 million of the $50 billion the U.S. spends on discovery at research institutions. The seed money would be used to experiment with university-based "proof-of-concept" centers that intervene in the earliest stages of product development.

http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/To-market-we-go-679876.php#page-2