For Industry

Decoding UC Berkeley’s Indirect Cost Rates

The Real Math: Why IDC Rates Are Actually Lower Than They Appear

At UC Berkeley, a 60.5% indirect cost (IDC) rate does not mean $60.50 is added to - or deducted - from every $100 of a sponsored research project's total cost. Like taxable income, certain expenses are removed before the rate is applied. In university accounting, this adjusted base is called Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).

Modified Total Direct Costs

MTDC excludes certain major project expenses such as capital equipment, tuition remission, off-site facility rentals, scholarships, and the portion of...

Who Should Disclose Inventions

How do you know if you should disclose an invention to the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing (OTL)?

Submit an invention disclosure if any of the following is true. The innovation was created:

by a UC Berkeley employee as part of their scope of employment, or using UC Berkeley research facilities, or using funds administered through UC Berkeley

An invention that meets any of those criteria, and therefore could potentially be owned by the university, must be disclosed to OTL under the UC employee agreement. This ensures the...

Venture Capital-Funded Research

Venture capital firms can fund research at UC Berkeley that may lead to intellectual property (IP), which a VC-designated startup company (a NewCo) can license. There are several approaches for structuring this kind of collaboration.

Plugging into the UC Berkeley Startup Ecosystem

Many early-stage investors, accelerators, service providers, and corporations want to know how to plug into UC Berkeley’s ecosystem of startup companies. The university encourages this interest and values the resulting connections. Accordingly, the campus has staff, web content, programs, and events that facilitate connecting with Berkeley startups.

University-Industry Engagement Funding Models

The IPIRA Industry Alliances Office assists in establishing, developing, and formalizing relationships between UC Berkeley and companies interested in funding research. Contact the IPIRA Concierge to discuss an engagment between UC Berkeley and industry.

The Licensing Process

Goals

A goal of UC Berkeley’s Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) is to establish license agreements that lead to the fast and broad commercialization of Berkeley technologies to: (1) benefit the public, (2) fund research and education on the campus, and (3) reward inventors for their ingenuity. Therefore, we are motivated to expeditiously negotiate licenses with reasonable terms that consider business plans, market economics, and technology stage.

Timing

The OTL closely monitors the cadence and time it takes to complete a license. Please see below for tips on how to expedite the...

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Student Capstone Programs

Bring your company's real-world challenge to a student team and get fresh ideas, a proof-of-concept, or actionable recommendations—while mentoring the next generation of talent. A capstone project is a major, multi-faceted assignment, often a research project, applied problem-solving, or creative product, that serves as a culminating experience at the end of a degree program or course.

IPIRA Publications

Access R&D Facilities and Equipment

Berkeley Research Infrastructure Commons

The UC Berkeley campus has R&D facilities that industry users can access through the Berkeley Research Infrastructure Commons (Berkeley RIC). The Berkeley RIC facilities are available to industry users for commercial purposes under commercial rate structures and business-friendly intellectual property terms.

Other Resources Off Campus

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