By Donald Zuhn —

On Monday, SparkIP launched a beta version of its new online intellectual property exchange, SparkIP.com.  The site, which SparkIP describes as "an advanced research and commerce platform for the scientific community," is designed to connect scientists, inventors, licensors, licensees, corporations, universities, government labs, and patent attorneys with one another; allow for the identification of new collaboration opportunities; and permit IP holders to "market new technologies to a worldwide audience of corporations, entrepreneurs and other acquirers of new technologies."  According to a statement released by the company, the online tool accomplishes this by categorizing information into SparkClusters — self-organizing and self-naming groups of patents and new inventions, which are designed to reorganize to reflect future technological change.  SparkIP CEO Ed Trimble said that the site would "allow universities, government labs, corporations or anyone with licensable IP to publish their inventions to a global audience," and as a result, would "help to increase the pace of innovation around the world."  Among those agreeing to list their technologies on the site are Duke University, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and EPFL of Switzerland.