Clearing Office for Spin-off Companies

The clearing office for spin-off companies from the Max Planck Society was founded by resolution of the president in 2011 and is located in the general administration

The office is contact point for researchers and employees of the Max Planck Institutes who want to found a company concerning the preparation of the founding of a spin-off company originating from the Max Planck Society. The clearing office evaluates each project in terms of conflicts of interest. It replaces the hitherto implemented „Institutsverträglichkeitsprüfung" (IVP; Institute impact assessment) with an improved, clear and target-oriented process. The process focuses on the same contents, fields of interest and questions as the IVP.

Furthermore, the clearing office brings you in contact with persons in charge of spin-off related topics such as contracts of use, cooperation contracts between Institute and spin-off company and authorization for secondary employment.

The office is run by employees of the unit VIIc of the department for law and structural development of the general administration, Max Planck Innovation and the revision department (chair) of the Max Planck Society. Rules of procedure (ClearVfO) can be found in the download area in the intranet.