Office of Technology Commercialization

Accelerating the translation of ideas into products & services for the benefit of North Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill and Beyond

Innovate Carolina’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) helps translate the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s inventions and findings into the commercial marketplace. It offers vital expertise to Carolina faculty and students who are engaged in a large and growing portfolio of sponsored and federally funded research, which often involves innovations with commercial potential. OTC works with Carolina’s researchers and inventors, as well as external research sponsors, collaborators, companies and investors.

As part of Innovate Carolina, OTC can help you: translate ideas into products and services that strengthen the economy and return revenue to the University, assess your technology’s commercial potential with patent landscaping and market research, launch a startup company through consulting, coaching, funding, mentorship and space, secure proof-of-concept grants for technology development, navigate technology patent applications and licensing agreements and structure partnerships that bring University research to market.

The UNC Patent and Invention Policy was established to ensure that inventions and discoveries in which the University has an interest will be utilized in a manner consistent with the public good through patent protection or other mechanisms as appropriate. This policy was recently revised to meet current policy guidelines and updated to clarify procedures and definitions. If you have questions about a patent or invention, reach out to the Office of Technology Commercialization for assistance.

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Latest Stories

A UNC Chemist and savvy startup spark a high-tech assault on national drug trafficking

Two decades ago at UNC-Chapel Hill, a chemist fiddled with ion traps and high-vacuum systems, nudged by a question: What would happen if arguably the most powerful chemical detection tool in the world—mass spectrometry—could be shrunk to fit in the palm of your hand? Today, the answer is saving lives.

For the eleventh year, UNC-Chapel Hill ranks in top 100 for patents granted amongst universities worldwide

Carolina moves up the list, ranking #62 on the National Academy of Inventors Top 100 rankings based on data provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Single-cell solution

Cell Microsystems, a company with UNC-Chapel Hill origins, is leapfrogging traditional technologies for single-cell cloning, culturing, analysis and isolation. How does the firm help scientists in pharma-biotech organizations speed therapeutic breakthroughs by culturing 10 times more cells in one-tenth of the time?