Decision making process in the commercialization of University patent in Malaysia

Abstract

Commercialization of university patent has become a major issue around the world, where many universities are moving into technology and entrepreneurial based universities. Even though the university possessed a number of patents, still a big portion of them are yet to be commercialized. This may be as a result of the complexity of the process involved and also the commitment of the parties involved in the decision making process. The purpose of this research is to find out how the commercialization process is done and understand why just a few of the university patents are commercialized. The study uses qualitative method incorporating a case study approach. Interviews were conducted with the relevant respondents from faculty of mechanical engineering, faculty of chemical engineering and natural resources, faculty of science and faculty of electrical engineering who have registered their inventions with Research Management Centre (RMC) of University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The study finds that the commercialisation process is influenced by: first, the motivation and opportunity recognition of the inventor and industry; second, the royalties and funding opportunity; and lastly, and most importantly, the role played by the RMC and Innovation and Commercialization Centre (ICC) in the whole process. The study concludes with suggestions on how the decision making process in commercialising university patents could effectively be carried out. Further study should adopt multiple cases from two or more universities and could also consider patents that have not been exploited. Key words: Licensing, commercialization, research and development, university patent, decision making process, Malaysia.