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Comment by ethbr0 | Hacker News Reader

Ironically, wikipedia lists the history as UF originally turning down a patent offer.

Then, when Robert Cade commercialized it and demonstrated sales, they sued him for a cut. The two parties settled on 20% for UF, plus reinvestment of some of the proceeds in Cade's research at the school. [0]

So apparently all schools are amateur at commercialization. UF just has more experience than most.

And generally, it seems like most universities do better spinning applied research and licensure off into an associated organization, who can focus on that. E.g. Ames, Argonne, JPL, LLNL, Lincoln Lab, ORNL

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cade

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> Then, when Robert Cade commercialized it and demonstrated sales, they sued him for a cut.

Someone once told me that no one gives a shit about your IP until you start making money.

If you start making money, then people will remember one of the following: a) your patent is invalid because they discovered it before you or b) they helped you with your discovery and they deserve a slice.

> they helped you with your discovery and they deserve a slice.

Using the "Gator" trademark entitles UF to a slice.

The word Gator is not a trademark, it's a common term for an alligator that dates back hundreds of years. "Florida Gators" is, within the context of football, athletics and academics.

It's Gatorade, not Gator

>So apparently all schools are amateur at commercialization. UF just has more experience than most.

The professor that originally created the buckey ball (forerunner to carbon nano tubes) was at a community College, and he didn't realize what he had done. Then a nearby university (the one you are thinking of) saw his research and recognized what was happening - so they bought it and expanded it. The university professors eventually got a Nobel prize out of it.

> So apparently all schools are amateur at commercialization. UF just has more experience than most.

I knew an engineering professor at a large state school with a renowned engineering program and one of his biggest complaints was how incompetent the licensing/commercialization office was at the school compared with, say, Stanford.

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