ITTN - Israel Tech Transfer Network

Survey of Commercialization Companies in Israel 2012-2013

26 August 2014

Reports on Inventions, Patents, License Agreements, Revenues and Startup Companies·

The survey of commercialization companies in Israel for 2012- 2013 includes those companies associated with research universities (eight companies for the eight universities), and companies associated with hospitals and research institutions. This is the third survey conducted on commercialization companies.

1. Most patents that were commercialized by commercialization companies belong to Israeli companies; most of the royalties received came from Israel as well as most of the startup companies were established in Israel.

· In 2012-2013, approximately 1,438 IP invention disclosure reports were submitted by the researchers of various universities and R&D institutions for examination by the commercialization companies; of those, the companies decided to protect 922. About 1,019 of the reports were by companies at the universities, an increase of 2.2% compared to 2010-2011, and a 1% increase in 2010-2011 compared to 2008-2009.

· Commercialization companies filed 451 original patent applications in 2013, of which 51 were submitted in Israel, and in 2012, 516 original patent applications were submitted, 33 of which were submitted in Israel. The number of original patent applications rose over the period 2008-2013 by 34%.

· The dominant fields of the original patent applications were medicines (24%), bio-technology (17%), and medical equipment (13%). In 2012, these were 56% of all applications, and in 2013, about 53% of all applications. In the years 2012-2013, commercialization companies have been involved in the establishment of
72 start-up companies. The main industries of the start-up companies are scientific research and development (81%) and computer programming (7%).

· The revenues from sales of intellectual property and gross royalties amounted to NIS 1,881 million in 2012, compared to NIS 1,680 million in 2011, an increase of 11.9% (see notes A and B below). Most of the revenues from sales of intellectual property (IP) and gross royalties received in 2012 came from Israel - 72%. The dominant field of the received revenues was medicines (94%).

· The revenues from sales of intellectual property and gross royalties in universities in 2012 amounted to NIS 1,853 million in 2012, compared to NIS 1,658 million in 2011, an increase of 11.8%.

· Approximately 71% of the professional employees in all the commercialization companies had a first or second degree; 24% had a PhD degree. The dominant field of study of the professional employees was Life Sciences (23%); 37% of the employees worked on business development in the commercialization companies. The number of professional employees at the companies associated with the universities increased by 27%, compared to 2011, following an increase of 51% compared to 2009.

· Israel is high in all indicators of international comparison (after normalization): the number of invention disclosures, patent applications, license agreements, startups established and revenue from IP and royalties.

Background

The survey for years 2012-2013, compared to previous surveys:

Notes:

A. One commercialization company was added to the commercialization companies associated with the universities in the current survey for the years 2012-2013, compared to previous surveys.

B. In 2012 and 2013, eleven companies were included in the survey from hospitals and research institutions, compared to six companies in 2010 and 2011. In the research institutions category, two colleges were included for reasons of statistical confidentiality.

C. The survey for the years 2008-2009 included only the companies associated with universities.

· The role of commercialization companies is to search out, develop, and market the knowhow accumulated in the institutions mentioned above, to turn a patent into a commercial product, and help in creating startup companies. Commercialization companies with these activities contribute substantially to the growth of the economy concomitant with increasing the income of the institutions they represent.

· This survey was initiated and supported by the Israel National Council for Research and Development, of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space. The questionnaire deals with the following topics: expenditure and personnel in the field of managing IP (Intellectual Property), IP and its protection (inventions, patents, etc.), revenue from IP, startup companies and more.

The findings of the survey were as follows:

The Activity of Commercialization Companies

· Commercialization companies deal with the management of intellectual property (IP). IP is a generic term referring to rights associated with intangible resources that were a person's intellectual creations, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks. These property rights enable the holder to form a monopoly on the use of the item for a certain period and in certain countries.

· There are different types of intellectual property: inventions, computer programs, databases, educational material, other means, industrial designs, un-registered trademarks (™) or registered trademarks (®), new varieties of plants, etc. This survey is about inventions which are usually protected by patents, since the first survey conducted by the CBS revealed that almost all the activities of the commercialization companies focuses on promoting this type of intellectual property.

· The commercialization process in these companies usually takes this form: Initially the companies approach the academic staff at the university, hospital or research Institution to receive the ideas, innovations and new inventions. Commercialization companies then examine whether the ideas, inventions or innovations are able to be legally protected and whether they have commercial potential that justifies a patent application. They decide to continue the process with selected ideas and reject others.

· In the continuation of the process, the companies submit patent applications to the appropriate authorities in Israel and abroad, and attempt to market the patent rights to companies in Israel and abroad. The companies may sell exclusive or non- exclusive rights on the use of the patent but usually do not sell their ownership of the patent.

Reports on Invention Disclosures

In 2012 and 2013, commercialization companies received 1,438 invention disclosure reports, about 1,019 from commercialization companies at universities; of all disclosures, it was decided to protect 922 cases, to reject 323 cases, and in 193 cases a decision was not yet reached. Compared to 2010 and 2011, there was an increase of20% in total invention disclosures reports (see notes A and B in page 2) in all the institutions. In the companies at universities, there was an increase of 2.2%, compared to 2010-2011. The dominant fields in invention disclosures reports of the companies associated with the universities were: biotechnology, medicines, physics, electronics and electro-optics, and chemistry and nanotechnology. The dominant field in invention disclosures reports of hospitals was medical equipment. The dominant field in invention disclosures reports of research institutions and colleges was agriculture and plant genetics.

To read more please download the attached PDF.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE HE Reports on Inventions, Patents, License Agreements, Revenues and Startup Companies

The survey of commercialization companies in Israel for 2012- 2013 includes those companies associated with research universities (eight companies for the eight universities), and companies associated with hospitals and research institutions. This is the third survey conducted on commercialization companies.

Most patents that were commercialized by commercialization companies belong to Israeli companies; most of the royalties received came from Israel as well as most of the startup companies were established in Israel.

In 2012-2013, approximately 1,438 IP invention disclosure reports were submitted by the researchers of various universities and R&D institutions for examination by the commercialization companies; of those, the companies decided to protect 922. About 1,019 of the reports were by companies at the universities, an increase of 2.2% compared to 2010-2011, and a 1% increase in 2010-2011 compared to 2008-2009.

Commercialization companies filed 451 original patent applications in 2013, of which 51 were submitted in Israel, and in 2012, 516 original patent applications were submitted, 33 of which were submitted in Israel. The number of original patent applications rose over the period 2008-2013 by 34%.

The dominant fields of the original patent applications were medicines (24%), bio-technology (17%), and medical equipment (13%). In 2012, these were 56% of all applications, and in 2013, about 53% of all applications. In the years 2012-2013, commercialization companies have been involved in the establishment of
72 start-up companies. The main industries of the start-up companies are scientific research and development (81%) and computer programming (7%).

The revenues from sales of intellectual property and gross royalties amounted to NIS 1,881 million in 2012, compared to NIS 1,680 million in 2011, an increase of 11.9% (see notes A and B below). Most of the revenues from sales of intellectual property (IP) and gross royalties received in 2012 came from Israel - 72%. The dominant field of the received revenues was medicines (94%).

The revenues from sales of intellectual property and gross royalties in universities in 2012 amounted to NIS 1,853 million in 2012, compared to NIS 1,658 million in 2011, an increase of 11.8%.