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The Lambert Review Of Business-University Collaboration, published in December 2003 looked at the relationship between industry and academia in scientific research and commercialisation of that research. It broadly supports the Government’s approach to ‘third stream funding’ which promotes knowledge transfer. The amount of money spent by UK companies on research and  development (R & D) is low compared with other industrialised nations: about $410 per person compared with $700 per person in France and $1300 in the USA.

There are barriers to commercialising university IP, including lack of clarity on ownership in research collaboration and in the variable quality of university technology transfer offices. Universities perform well by international standards in science and technology. There has been a marked change of culture, with many universities casting off their ivory tower image and playing a much more active role in their regional and national economy. But, there had been too much emphasis on spinouts over the last decade compared with licensing fend other forms of commercialisation).

Inventor clubs can provide the resources, encouragement and contacts you will need as you move your product to market. The clubs are often populated with inventors who have successfully navigated the idea-tomarket maze. They are willing to share their experiences and the expertise they have gained along the way. The knowledge the members of these organizations share can help you to avoid many of the pitfalls in inventing.

It can also shorten the length of the process by teaching you the shortcuts they have learned. The inspiration club members offer can be as important as anything else can for keeping a new inventor motivated. Inventing is often discouraging, and just knowing a living, breathing person, not unlike yourself, who has invented successfully, can provide the encouragement you need to see you through the discouraging times.

Some of the successful inventors who belong to their local inventor support groups have licensed their products, others have chosen to build a business around their inventions, and still others have chosen countless other options such as catalog or infomercial sales for their products or patents. These individuals belong to the local inventor clubs because they wish to share their knowledge with others who are seeking success with their inventions.