Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of Oxford university, was involved in a UK government-commissioned review of university spinouts last November, which called for additional funding, business training for academics and the development of more standardised commercial terms. Photograph: iStockSteve Brierley did not have to negotiate intellectual property rights when he quit his academic position at Cambridge University to create a start-up.
“I asked the pro-vice chancellor of innovation when he wanted his money back, and he said: ‘The university is 800 years old. Take your time!’” he jokes. Even when tech companies such as Google are involved in quasi-academic research and publishing research papers, he points to the power of the universities of Stanford and Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay as the “anchors”.
Comparisons with the US sometimes suggest that the commercial terms for university spinouts are less attractive in the UK. However, Aguilar suggests the differences are often misinterpreted. While the two systems may take different approaches to the share of equity, to the conditions for dilution, or to the terms of royalty payments, “you end up broadly at the same point”.