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Office of Technology Development (OTD)
Mission
The Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD) is responsible for all activities pertaining to the evaluation, patenting and licensing of new inventions and discoveries made at Harvard University. OTD also serves to further the development of Harvard technologies through the establishment of sponsored research collaborations with industry. OTD's core mission is to promote the public interest by fostering innovation and translating new inventions made at Harvard into useful products that will be available and beneficial to society.
Core Activities
OTD does this primarily through the process known as technology transfer, or the licensing of intellectual property resulting from our research. OTD assists Harvard faculty and inventors to obtain patent protection for their technology, and thereafter to license such technologies to industry. OTD provides a full suite of services to the faculty in order to achieve these objectives, spanning the gamut from developing patent strategies and establishing patent positions, to developing effective business strategies to ensure the most timely and effective means to develop and commercialize Harvard technologies. OTD grants licenses to both existing and start up companies and, when appropriate, proactively spur s the formation of new ventures around Harvard technologies. In either case, we seek to ensure that our industrial partners possess both the financial resources and technical competencies, as well as demonstrate the strong commitment necessary to advance and develop our technologies into viable, successful products.
Finally, OTD provides advice and counsel to the Provost on matters pertaining to university policy on intellectual property, licensing, new venture formation and industry-sponsored research agreements.
Visit the OTD website here: www.otd.harvard.edu
