As of January 1st 2000 all employees at public Danish research institutions are obliged to report inventions to their institution.

If the university decides to take over the rights to the invention, it must assist in seeing to it that the invention is used commercially.

It is important to stress that research institutions are not to be viewed as extensions of the companies' own product oriented laboratories.

Rather, the knowledge institutions' task is to ensure that research results, which have a certain probability of being used commercially, will be patented.

The process to commercially exploit public research varies widely.

It can involve licensing agreements or setting up joint ventures and partnerships to share both the risks and rewards of bringing new technologies to market.
 
Other corporate vehicles, e.g. spin-outs, are used where the host organization does not have the necessary will, resources or skills to develop a new technology.

Often these approaches are associated with raising of venture capital as a means of funding the development process.

Contacts, contracts and codices