Invitation to Tender for Orphan IP Bank Viability Study

MIDAS and GC Business Growth Hub wish to jointly commission a viability study for a pilot project to set up a Cooperative Intellectual Property Bank in Greater Manchester, a central repository to run Orphan IP programmes through.

The research would include: • Identification of at least 15-20 large UK companies with Orphan IP programmes (e.g.

BT, Unilever). • Discussions with large companies with Orphan IP programmes to understand the level of interest in the project • Roundtable consultation/s with innovative GM SMEs to assess demand and interest in developing & commercialising Orphan IP from large companies (to be organised in partnership with MIDAS/BGH) • Assessment of the viability of a pilot Cooperative Intellectual Property Bank including a potential model for delivery and detailing any specific cluster/sector preferences • An outline of how the IP Bank could be scaled up following the pilot to engage multiple large companies and create a central platform for GM-based SMEs to engage with these Orphan IP programmes • Identification of large companies with Corporate VC arms (e.g.

CISCO) • An assessment of how we could leverage Corporate VC into the programme, to help fund business growth and accelerate R&D investment and IP commercialisation in Greater Manchester • Indication of what a reasonable range of outputs/outcomes should be from such a model - i.e. number of deals, value of deals etc.