Pittsburgh, PA-based Wellspring Worldwide, LLC, plans to acquire the Flintbox Innovation Network, an online global IP exchange, from UBC Research Enterprise (UBCRE), a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of the University of British Columbia. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Vancouver, B.C., Flintbox is a U-British Columbia spinout and represents a strategic addition to Wellspring’s online software product business. The acquisition will extend Wellspring’s Technology Gateway product, enabling more than 160 universities, government labs, and companies to post, exchange, license, and purchase technologies online. Wellspring also plans to develop the Flintbox platform into an open innovation network by incorporating technology from other Wellspring software products. The open innovation network will enable universities and companies to collaborate on research and commercialization agreements and allow partner organizations to manage online material transfer agreements, multi-institution disclosures, and bundled marketing and licensing. The combined business will operate under the Flintbox brand name and maintain its operations base in Vancouver.
Source: Central Penn Business Network