Industry/University Licensing: Characteristics, Concerns and Issues from the Perspective of the Buyer
Posted: 24 Nov 2009
Date Written: 2003
Abstract
Invention licensing is approached from theperspective of firms engaged in licensing technology. A survey of industrylicensing professionals was conducted, including 112 businesses that activelylicense university technologies and 188 that do not. The early stage of mostuniversity technologies is the central element of the conducted survey, leadingto the following findings: (1) early stage technologies are more likely to fail(i.e., they do not fit the need anticipated at the time of the license); (2)many firms choose not to license form universities because of the embryonicnature of university technologies; and (3) early stage technologies are usuallylicensed to firms identified by the faculty inventor. To understand how the process works, the development stage of universitytechnologies, the characteristics of their licensing contract, and the sourcesof information about university technologies are considered. It is suggestedthat contracts that include equity and/or royalties are important, as they makefaculty returns commercially successful; also, reward-sharing is recommended.Concerns about university licensing suggest a possible change in the trajectoryof university research from basic research and teaching towards the needs ofindustry. Further research on the role of faculty in the technology transferprocess is recommended.(CBS)
Keywords: Buyers, Early stage technologies, Technology licenses, Stages of development, University-firm relations, Technology transfer, High technology industries, Colleges & universities, Reward systems, License agreements, Inventors, Contracts & agreements, Royalties, Faculty, University-industry relations, Equity, Licensing strategies
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