Weihai Business | "Tech Matchmaker" Connects and Bridges, Linking Production, Education, and Research
Our Weihai client news (Reporters | Qi Dongwei, Wang Junwei) The low conversion rate of scientific and technological achievements has always been a significant bottleneck restricting the development of scientific and technological innovation. To address this challenge, the municipal market supervision department has focused on a special action for patent transformation and application, innovatively established an "IP innovation alliance of government, universities, and enterprises", and built a bridge for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements through "science and technology matchmakers", enabling innovation and industry to move in a bidirectional manner.
Shandong Fengming Huanyu Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., located in the Economic Development Zone, is a technology-based enterprise specializing in the research, development, and production of high-cleanliness oil-water purification equipment. Although it has been established for a short time, the company already boasts over 40 patented technologies. Recently, Fengming Huanyu signed a patent transformation contract with Jining University, where Jining University transferred its invention patent for "a multi-field coupling drying system and drying wastewater treatment process" to the company at a price of 5 million yuan, setting a new record for patent transfer fees in our city.
Zhang Tong, General Manager of Shandong Fengming Huanyu Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., said that the application of this technology can save 20% of the cost for their users and generate approximately 30 million yuan in annual revenue for the company.
Speaking of the cooperation with Jining University this time, Zhang Tong said it was not easy, because the transformation of patent achievements is a "two-point-one-line" process. Often, universities and colleges have technology and patents, but cannot find users, while enterprises and individuals have needs, but do not know where to introduce them from.
Zhang Rui, the chairman of Weihai Association for the Promotion of Technology Transfer, said that in the process of patent technology transfer, it involves a lot of technical analysis, legal risk analysis, and collaboration with a team of professors and experts. These factors must be taken into account. If calculated based on the current time for patent technology transfer, it may take 3-5 years
In response to the deadlock of low efficiency, narrow paths, and limited benefits in patent transfer and transformation, our city has actively carried out beneficial explorations in recent years. We have established service support institutions such as the "Weihai Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Promotion Association" and the "Weihai Intellectual Property Collaborative Operation Center", and have cultivated a group of compound technical managers who understand both technology and the market. These managers are active in the front line of technology achievement transformation, serving as "science and technology matchmakers" and "bridges", connecting research institutes on one end and the market and industry on the other, promoting the transformation of "marriage achievements".
Zhang Rui said that their association has a broad enterprise base. They know which enterprises need what technologies, and they also know which universities can provide what technologies. Therefore, they need to match the two parties back and forth, so that the demand and supply relationship between the two parties can reach a balance, a fair and reasonable scale
Zhang Tong said that through introduction and full-process coordination, the enterprise was able to quickly sign the contract. From contact to signing, it took less than a month, greatly reducing the cost and time efficiency of negotiation and communication between both parties.
As of now, 100% of the 1,774 existing patents in universities across the city have been inventoried; 1,238 patent transfers and licenses have been granted, benefiting 382 enterprises. Next, our city will also explore the establishment of a "government-university-enterprise" intellectual property innovation consortium, promoting key enterprises in the industrial chain to adopt the form of "multiple enterprises-multiple universities" in industry-university-research collaboration, assimilate and transform existing patent technologies from universities and institutions, help enterprises solve key technical problems, and reduce innovation costs.