UC Irvine

Campus Notes:

  UCI assumed responsibility for marketing and licensing many of its active inventions in FY95. OTT continues to provide administrative support for these inventions and to fully manage the remainder of the UCI portfolio. The data presented here represent activity for the entire UCI invention portfolio. They include OTT operating expenses but exclude expenses of UCI’s Office of University/ Industry Research and Technology.

  Most UCI income is generated by one-time issue fees or milestone payments rather than by ongoing royalty streams. In FY95 and FY96, one agreement generated minimum royalties of $150,000, but has now been terminated. Another generated a $100,000 issue fee in FY95 and a $50,000 minimum royalty payment in FY96.

  The disclosure rate and the number of new patent filings remained stable in FY96. The number of secondary filings decreased, reflecting the fact that FY95 filings were unusually high due to patent law changes related to GATT.

  The decrease in legal expenses from FY95- FY96 was primarily due to a $63,000 reduction in net patent prosecution expenses. Legal defense expenses in FY96 consisted entirely of ongoing costs of two legal actions involving the company Genprobe. These litigation expenses are being reimbursed by the licensee.

  The $82,000 increase in inventor share payments from FY95 to FY96 resulted from a $204,000 increase in income from FY94 to FY95. OTT operating expenses grew by 9% ($21,000) due to increased OTT support for the Irvine invention portfolio. A combination of all the above factors gave rise to a 30% ($48,000) increase in UCI’s net loss. Such losses are likely to continue until licensed inventions begin to generate steady streams of income.

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY