Licensing
Universities are obligated by the Bayh-Dole Act to transfer technology to industry through patent licensing to permit development and commercialization of government-funded discoveries. However, the universities' technology licensing offices often decide who gets the right to commercialize a particular technology. The right to use a patented invention may be transferred either to a single company through an exclusive license or to multiple companies via non-exclusive licenses.
When patents are valuable, the university licensing office may negotiate complex and expensive agreements involving up-front cash payments, milestone payments contingent upon additional development of the licensed technology, and royalties as a percentage of product sales. . The TLO may even accept or demand equity in the company. The university considers both the value of the license agreement and the likelihood that the company will be able to meet all the milestones and generate sales. Technology licensing offices have different policies and attitudes on licensing technology to startup firms. Some offices act proactively in helping their research investigators with the startup process.
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Accomplishments
