Intellectual Property Office

Services to Industry

The Intellectual Property Office identifies, evaluates, and facilitates the transfer of intellectual property such as inventions and software from the University to the private sector. The IPO

• screens inventions and discoveries made in University facilities for patentability, commercial potential, and general marketability,
• compiles lists of technologies available for licensing and of patents issued (these lists are revised quarterly),
• markets Penn State patents and copyrights to companies interested in new product development, and
• negotiates licensing arrangements.

For example, Professor Emeritus Joe MacNeil recently invented a method for separating eggs from their shell, a longstanding problem for both the egg industry and the Environmental Protection Agency. The shells attract vermin in landfills and have to be carted away, which is costly.Yet eggshells can be used in a variety of ways: rich in calcium, they can fortify foods from animal feeds to orange juice; finely ground, the shells can be used for pulp in paper. Best of all, the paper-thin membrane between the shell and the egg is made up primarily of collagen. Raw collagen is used in a host of biomedical ways -- such as the production of skin grafts, tissue replacement products, angioplasty sleeves, and cornea repair -- and sells for up to $1,000 per gram. After trying a variety of methods, MacNeil found that a type of meat grinder combined with a delicate multibladed knife was able to scrape the shell clean. Through the Intellectual Property Office, the invention has been licensed to Cutler Eggs in Philadelphia, which is currently building a machine based on MacNeil's prototype.

For more information on new product development, licensing arrangements, patent transfers, or joint business ventures with Penn State, please send e-mail to the Intellectual Property Office or contact a member of our staff.