Transaction
Once OLV’s marketing efforts have successfully attracted one or more potential commercial partners, the invention managers will engage these companies to develop legal agreements that enable the companies to develop and commercialize technologies while providing Duke and its inventors financial returns commensurate with the opportunity.
OLV will work with industry partners to arrive at licensing structures that best align with companies’ commercialization plans and then negotiate a license that captures these details.
Deal structuring can be complex and time intensive, and the OLV staff is poised to navigate through this process to execute a licensing deal that benefits both parties, maximizing the opportunity for successful commercialization of the technology.
Under a license agreement, Duke retains ownership of the technology and its associated patent rights. A license agreement grants the rights to practice the patent rights and commercialize the technology into a product/service for the public good. Duke retains the right to also practice the same rights for its research purposes.
Types of Licenses
Licenses generally fall into two categories: exclusive licenses or non-exclusive licenses.
As the name suggests, an exclusive license provides one commercial partner with sole right to commercialize the Duke University technology, by “excluding” all other for-profit entities the right to use such technology.
Conversely, non-exclusive licenses provide the right to use the technology for commercial or research purposes, but the licenses themselves do not exclude others from practicing. Another defining characteristic of a license is the application, i.e. field of use and the territory.
Exclusive licenses can often be granted for a specific field of use, therefore allowing multiple companies exclusivity in different areas of application.
Because the rights granted under a non-exclusive license are not meant to exclude anyone, the rights do not have to be distinguished by field of use or territory, though they certainly can be. Whether exclusive or non-exclusive, the goal is to provide the commercial partner with the rights they need and intend to use, but no additional rights.