IPTLO FAQs for Start-Ups
Start-ups or Working for a Licensee by Faculty or Staff
We are to help you start your entrepreneurial journey! The Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing Office can connect you with a wealth of resources for inventors looking for help starting a company.
NJIT can provide NJIT inventors assistance with all facets of the startup process – from writing a business plan, to meeting like-minded entrepreneurs and investors, to attracting board members, to securing funding to demonstrate an invention's commercial viability. We even have our own business incubator where you can rent a desk, private office or dry or wet lab, see VentureLink for more information.
Please note that we do not negotiate or review consulting agreements on behalf of inventors. If a potential licensee is interested in having an inventor consult with the company, negotiations would be directly between the inventor(s) and the company.
If an inventor is planning to remain at NJIT while consulting with a company, the inventor should familiarize themselves with the policies of NJIT and their school relevant to consulting activities. The inventor is expected to ensure that the terms of the consulting arrangement are consistent with University policies, including those related to IP ownership and employment responsibilities.
Visit the University Policies site for the different policies for faculty, staff and students. Faculty should also refer to the requirements for faculty consulting activities and agreements at the Office of Ethics website ethics@njit.edu.
As State employees, NJIT faculty are bound by the State of New Jersey’s Conflicts of Interest Law which imposes standards for public employees’ conduct in order to preserve confidence in public institutions and their employees.
NJIT developed its Supplemental Code of Ethics to provide clear guidance to employees working in a scholarly capacity on consulting, development of commercial enterprises and other outside professional activities, in accordance with State ethics regulations. These activities provide an important means of continuing education for the faculty and grant experience in aspects of their professional fields outside the context of NJIT itself. These activities can also provide a mechanism for the transfer of knowledge from the University to the public good.
NJIT's Supplemental Code of Ethics guides employees on balancing their primary professional responsibility to NJIT against potentially conflicting outside activities and concerns. The parameters set forth in NJIT’s Supplemental Code of Ethics are intended to strike a fair balance between the University faculty’s professional responsibility to NJIT and outside activities, serve to safeguard the interests of both parties, and comply with State ethics regulations.
As such, employees are required to disclose outside activities for ethics review and approval on a regular basis in accordance with State ethics regulations. As part of the ethics review, the university’s Ethics Liaison Officer will assist faculty in determining and managing any potential conflicts of interest.
Any questions on NJIT’s policy and/or the State ethics regulations may be directed to ethics@njit.edu.