Rather, licensing or otherwise monetizing internally developed software solutions is like finding money in your sofa. Sometime ago you would have earned those hidden sofa assets so it really isn’t a windfall, but your money certainly wasn’t doing anything for you while trapped in your sofa.

Likewise, companies spend millions every year on internally developed software in their IT and Research organizations. Much of what they develop is market leading and has great commercial viability beyond the corporate walls and even outside their industry. So, think of a company like a giant sofa - and the technical folks are holding your technology assets. The best part is that since the assets were developed under an R&D or business unit budget , it’s sunk cost - any revenue that you bring in is a windfall! The question is; how do we beat the metaphorical sofa cushions to generate more technology disclosures?

The key is to educate and generate awareness so that overtime you can develop an IP culture where your employees know how to recognize commercialization opportunities and bring these opportunities to you on their own. In the meantime, this is where promotional campaigns can help. Promotional activities are great because they are highly effective and cost little to nothing to implement. There are several things you can do, such as, email campaigns, contests, disclosure workshops, creating a newsletter, recognition events or even implementing an incentive program that rewards developers for their innovative contributions.

The quickest and easiest approach is email. Determine which group(s) you want to target and send out a well crafted memo which tells about your IP group, your objectives and how they fit in. TIP: To maximize results from email, I suggest that you first get buy-in from the division heads and then have them filter your message down the ranks. Your email will have more traction if it is endorsed by your CTO and will be more likely read if it comes from their boss.

Contests are another great way to generate awareness. Everyone loves to win a prize! There are many things you can do, when I was building the IP group at Cingular one of the first things I did was hold a contest to name our incentive program. We ran the announcement in the company newsletter - the prize was $100. OMG! I had so many entries, it was unbelievable. Of course, I had to read them all - careful what you wish for - but it was a good problem to have. We harvested several disclosures and moreover, we made our presence known in the organization. And the winner? A technician, Sam, came up with “What’s the Big Idea?” - and so our program was born.

Another great thing about contests is that you can have one for almost any reason and the prizes can be of nominal value; a mug, t-shirt, coupon book for Seattle’s Best or Chick-fil-a (whatever’s close to the office). TIP: As tempting as it is to scrounge for leftovers from corporate events, do spend the cash to brand your give-aways with your group name, e.g., ”ACME Intellectual Property.” Let the cap, tee, or coffee mug continue the publicity long after the contest has passed.

I recently helped one of our clients, SAIC to put together a contest. Our objective was two-fold. First, to generate technology disclosures, and second to promote VirtualVentures.com. We did this by asking employees to identify which technologies posted in the Virtual Ventures marketplace belonged to SAIC. The 1st prize is a Microsoft Zune and for 2nd prize, a Slide-Rule!  The contest is still in play, but if the contest entries are any indication our mission will be successful! Stay tuned for more on promotional campaigns in my future postings…