PrintMar. 30--WATERLOO -- Midwest Intellectual Property Management Institute -- designed to spur economic development across the region by using unused patents of area companies and the knowledge base of the local work force's retirees -- is opening a center at Cedar Valley TechWorks.
The basic premise of Midwest IPI, a division of Moline, Ill.-based Renew Moline Inc., is to turn under-used company-held patents into new business ventures with companies seeking new product or process enhancements.
Midwest IPI obtains licenses for intellectual property from their corporate owners and, in turn, look to sub-license the patents to others trying to start up businesses, said Steve Dust, chief executive officer of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, said.
Renew Moline, an economic development organization in the Quad Cities, obtained a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration last September to fund the expansion. Dust said organizers in the Cedar Valley are applying for a "mirrored grant" from the agency.
Many of Midwest IPI's ideas are focused on renewable resources, energy efficiency or product innovations, such as a dual-blade grader, for agricultural uses; a diesel emission reducer, which cuts a diesel engine's pollutants while increasing its fuel efficiency; or an electronic phone card, which is designed to cut or eliminate dialing errors.
Midwest IPI will attempt to bring in innovators to guide the marketing of ideas they may have played a role in developing, Dust said.
It could be a boon to some of the most seasoned minds involved in research and development and production design in the Cedar Valley, including retirees from Deere & Co. and other area companies, as well as "active service professionals with intellectual property," Dust said.
It's a matter of, ideally, inviting the creator of a patented idea to turn that idea into a business, Dust said.
"It would either have the person who invented the idea lead that business or, if they don't choose to lead it, be a participant and find people to make a business out of it," he said. "There's a broad spectrum of people who can get involved."
Both Midwest IPI sites will manage the intellectual property, while the center at TechWorks will have its own role, Dust said.
"Here, we're going to be focused on the talent management side of it because many of those folks are still residents in the Cedar Valley area," he said.
A search for a "talent manager" is under way, Dust said.
Midwest IPI will occupy office space on the second floor of the Tech 1 building at TechWorks, Dust said.
"As we're able to complete our industrial incubator, we'll have space for folks to begin prototyping, developing and commercializing their ideas," he said.
Anyone who is interested in getting involved can call Dust at the Alliance, 232-1156.
To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com/ . Copyright (c) 2010, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
