Commercialization

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In beginning the path to license a technology to a potential licensee, an initial starting value or range of values, i.e., a benchmark must be obtained. Past deals done between companies and licensees that involve a similar technology to the one seeking to be licensed should be found. Experts in the field can be contacted in order to verify that the suggested benchmark is reasonable. The overall goal is to determine the fair market value of the technology. Once a tentative license value is agreed upon between the inventor, OTT staff, and legal counsel, the following step is to reach out to potential targets and begin discussing with the companies the possible licensing options. At this point, all potential targets should have received the general description of the technology, and be well-informed of the main components of it. Licensing can take multiple forms, from full to partial rights to the technology, in exchange for some type of return (cash or stock options). In determining a license, one can begin with the already determined fair market value, and adjust the value based upon the specifics of the situation.

Detailed licensing process