While I’m not taken with compulsory ownership IP systems for American universities, there are still really good reasons to work with a university IP office, and even to want a university to own your IP. It’s all about choice, capability, and opportunity.
1. Set the tone for your team
If you put your IP with the university, you set an example for others in your research team. Rather than having things fragment among the team, or having to negotiate a lot of competing interests and situations, let the university handle everyone’s IP and see how things develop over time.
2. Gain access to resources
If the university owns your IP, then it is more likely to spend to file patent applications and allocate time to your work. If the office is capable, and willing to work with you, then it is like getting $20K or more in seed funding.
3. Keep things in the lab
If you own work personally, then you may have problems keeping research going in your lab at the university. Allowing the university to act as a steward for ownership removes questions with regard to your use of resources.
4. Shift the liability
If you own IP, then if things go wrong, it’s your problem. A university IP office, in addition to taking the liability for ownership, infringement, breach of contract, product liability, and other risks, also has ways to manage liability in contracting. Early in the life of a new technology, the liability may be much greater than the possible upside.
5. They may be very good
There are not all that many people in the world who are capable of handling research inventions, software, and other assets. If you have an office that is capable, then they may be the best people around to work with.