Law no. 64 of October 11, 1991 – The rights of inventors over an invention on the territory of Romania are established by granting patents by the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks.
Law no. 83 of June 24, 2014 – On service inventions.
Ordinance no. 57 of August 16, 2002 – Regulates research and development activity in Romania, which is a national priority and plays a determining role in the sustainable economic development strategy.
The procedure, intended for all ITIM’s researchers, is a working tool which sets out the responsibilities and the way of working in the process of inventorying and evaluating RDI results. Good communication with the Technology Transfer Center is an aid in achieving its mission, namely to present the expertise and research results to entrepreneurs, investors and industrial partners.
The form of presentation of the offer is a synthetic one and specific technical details are to be provided directly through meetings with those interested. It is important to be aware of the dynamics of social needs and to adapt the offer of results to these needs.
Standard procedure for reporting transferable results (pdf)
Transferable Technology Form (doc)
TRL – Technological Maturity Level:
Definition: Basic principles are observed. Examples studies on basic material properties. Principles are observed qualitatively.
Description: Basic principles are observed. Focus is on fundamental understanding of a material or process.
Definition: The technological concept and/or application is formulated. Initial practical applications are identified. The potential of the material or process to fulfill a technological need is confirmed.
Description: Once the basic principles are followed, practical applications can be identified. Applications are speculative and there may be no evidence or detailed analysis to support the hypotheses. Examples are still limited to analytical studies. Supporting information includes publications or other references that describe the application under consideration and provide analysis supporting the concept. Moving from TRL 1 to TRL 2 transfers ideas from basic to applied research. The majority of the work is analytical or paper-based studies with an emphasis on better understanding the science. Experimental papers are intended to corroborate the fundamental scientific observations identified in TRL 1.
Definition: Applied research continues and begins development. Includes initial laboratory studies and measurements to validate analytical predictions of separate elements of the technology.
Description: Analytical studies and laboratory studies are designed to physically validate the predictions of separate elements of the technology. Supporting information includes the results of laboratory tests performed to measure the parameters of interest and comparison to analytical predictions for critical components. At TRL 3, the experimental work is intended to verify that the concept performs as expected. The technology components are validated, but there is no strong attempt to integrate the components into a complete system. Modeling and simulation can be used to complement the physical experiments.
Definition: Laboratory testing/validation of alpha prototype component/process. Design, development and laboratory testing of technology components is performed. The results provide evidence that applicable component/process performance objectives can be achieved based on the systems designed or modeled.
Description: Basic technology components are integrated to establish that the parts will work together. This is relatively “low fidelity” compared to the eventual system. Supporting information includes the results of the integrated experiments and estimates of how the experimental components and experimental test results differ from the expected system performance goals. TRL 4-6 represents the bridge from scientific research to engineering, from development to demonstration. TRL 4 is the first step in determining whether the individual components will work together as a system. The goal of TRL 4 should be to minimize the possible options in the overall system.
Definition: Laboratory testing of integrated / semi-integrated systems. Validation of components and/or processes in the relevant environment – (Beta prototype component).
Description: The core technology components are integrated so that the system configuration is similar to the final application in almost all aspects. Supporting information includes laboratory test results, analysis of differences between the laboratory and the eventual operating system/environment, and analysis of experimental results for the eventual operating system/environment. The major difference between TRL 4 and 5 is the increased fidelity of the system and environment to the actual application. The tested system is almost prototype. Scientific risk should be withdrawn at the end of TRL 5. The results presented should be statistically relevant.
Definition: System/process prototype demonstration in an operational environment (Beta prototype system level).
Description: Industrial scale models or prototypes are tested in a relevant environment. This is an important step in demonstrating the availability of a technology. Examples include manufacturing the device on an engineering pilot line. Supporting information includes results from industrial scale testing and analysis of the differences between the engineering scale, the prototypical system/environment and analysis of what the experimental results mean for the eventual operating system/environment. TRL 6 begins the actual technological development of the technology as an operational system. The major difference between TRL 5 and 6 is the scaling up from laboratory scale to engineering scale and determining the scaling factors that will enable the final system design. The demonstration should be capable of performing all the functions that will be required of a complete manufacturing system. The test operating environment should represent
closely represent the actual operating environment. Cost model improvement is expected at this stage based on new learnings from the pilot line. The aim in TRL 6 is to reduce design risk. The results presented should be statistically relevant.
Definition: Integrated pilot system demonstrated. Demonstration of system/process prototype in operational environment- (integrated pilot level).
Description: This is a major step from TRL 6, requiring the demonstration of a real system prototype in a relevant environment. The final design is virtually complete. The goal of this step is to retire engineering and production risks. To credibly accomplish this goal and to exit TRL 7, it is necessary to scale as many of the significant engineering and manufacturing issues that may arise during the transition between TRL 6 and 7 as possible.
Definition: System embedded in commercial design. System/process has been upgraded and qualified through test and demonstration- (pre-commercial demonstration).
Description: The technology has been proven to work in its final form and under the expected conditions. In almost all cases, this TRL represents the end of true system development. Examples include large scale manufacture of the commercial end product. Actual manufacturing costs will be determined and delta models of the designs and plans developed to address them should be highlighted. Product performance should be highlighted and plans for closing the gap should be developed.
Definition: proven system ready for full commercial deployment. Real system proven by successful operations in the operating environment and ready for full commercial deployment.
Description: The technology is in final form and operating under the full range of operating conditions. Examples include targets for cost, yield, and steady state production results 24/7. The focus is on statistical process control.
Patenting is the method of protecting intellectual property rights and is, in essence, the instrument available to the author of the technological research result to protect and maximize, for his own benefit, the potential economic and financial effect of the result he has obtained.
There are two main eligibility conditions for a patent to be granted for a technological solution, product or process:
Therefore, for any technological solution that is intended to be patented, it is important that it is not publicly disclosed until the patent application has been published by the institution that received the patent application for the granting of the patent.
Technology transfer is a process carried out by research structures whereby a system of knowledge (patented or unpatented) is transferred to socio-economic entities capable of materializing this knowledge for their own benefit or for the benefit of society in general.
In the traditional approach, public authorities, through research institutes, provided technical solutions to interested parties. Research results were disseminated in articles or patents.
Today there is synergistic collaboration between public institutions, research organizations, private firms and other interest groups in society. This is possible when each stakeholder takes steps to communicate their own needs while understanding the needs of the other.
Convergence of ideas is ensured by the technology transfer manager who is a translator between two different languages, cultures and mentalities: academic and industrial.
Technology transfer activities:
Technology transfer can be realized through a variety of channels among which we mention:
The main role of contracts is to define reasonable and realistic expectations on both sides and to quantify results.
There are three broad categories of collaborative contracts:
Our contracts with private companies include the following clauses:
Work plan, schedule and deliverables. In order to ensure transparency, the sequence of activities, the time needed to carry them out and the expected results at the end of each activity are fixed at the outset.
The fee shall be fixed after the activities have been established, depending on the scope of the work, the time allocated and the material resources involved. In some cases the Institute may partially co-finance the costs of some research activities.
Intellectual property clauses are set at the beginning of each contract. Normally, royalties are shared directly in proportion to each party’s investment.
The right to publish is a requirement for researchers involved in a given research contract. This is only possible with the written agreement of the company.
Confidentiality and liability of the parties are relatively fixed clauses. Confidentiality clauses are important because during the course of the collaboration information may be disclosed to third parties; for this reason it is recommended to extend it for up to 5 years after the end of the collaboration.
Liability of the parties. By its very nature, research has a considerable degree of unpredictability and is such a subject to risks related to the results. It is therefore necessary to provide protection in the event that the result obtained is not the one sought.
