The concept of technology transfer is not all together new. As early as The 1958 Space Act, legislation was written with the purpose of transferring technology between the federal laboratories and the private sector. Also, the Bayh-Dole Act and the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980 paved the way for this process, in that rights to inventions resulting from government-sponsored research at universities would now be assigned to the universities. Later on, the 1986 Federal Technology Transfer Act opened the doors to research and development partnerships between federal laboratories and U.S. industry, and subsequent legislation and Executive Orders have continued to broaden their scope.

OTTED is set on promoting the transfer of the University of Hawaii's technology for society's use and benefit while generating unrestricted income to support further research and education. It is important to recognize that everyone benefits from licensing technology. Inventions and technologies created by faculty, staff, and students of the University of Hawai’i (UH) are assets of the University that represent the fruits of valuable and time-consuming research efforts. Many of these discoveries offer benefits to our society that are worthy of assertive efforts to make them widely available.

At OTTED, the close relationships we have built with both UH faculty and outside industry afford us a special opportunity to help facilitate the transfer of technology in ways that could benefit society for generations. Our goal is to create new connections between inventors and industry. By fulfilling its mission, and achieving its goals, OTTED serves inventors, the research community, the university, the State of Hawai'i and Federal Government, industry, commerce and the professions, and the Public. As a public institution, UH has an obligation and responsibility to make its research results available for the benefit of the community. Technology licensing and commercialization is sometimes the best method for sharing knowledge with society. In instances where significant costs could otherwise prevent development of inventions, such as with the creation and testing of pharmaceuticals, patent protection may secure a position that can attract the investment needed to facilitate R&D.