Customize Your Path

Select all of the following that apply to you and your research project to tailor the topics and resources displayed. Your selections will persist every time you access the site on the same device, until you change or reset the selections.
Your role:
Project inclusions:
Project sponsor or funding:
(seeking funding from or have already secured funding from)
Project managed by:

Customize Your Experience.

Utilize the "Customize Your Path" feature to refine the information displayed in myRESEARCHpath based on your role, project inclusions, sponsor or funding, and management center.

Stage
Disseminate and Close Out
Topic

Translate and commercialize

Need assistance with translating or commercializing research?

Licensing New Technology

A license: a permission that the owner or controller of Intellectual Property (IP) grants to another party, usually under a license agreement.
License agreements: describe the rights and responsibilities related to the use and exploitation of IP.

As per Duke employee agreements, the University owns IP generated by employees. University license agreements usually stipulate that the licensee (in this case the creator of the new technology) should diligently seek to bring the IP into commercial use for the public good and provide a reasonable financial return to the University.

In efforts to commercialize IP, licensees often require the active assistance of the inventor (researcher) to facilitate their commercialization efforts, at least at the early stages of development. Working with a new business start-up may require a substantial amount of the researcher's time. In addition, the researcher's participation with a start-up is governed by University conflict of interest policies.

 

Marketing New Technology

With the researcher's active involvement, the Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC) staff will identify candidate companies that have the expertise, resources, and business networks to bring technologies to market. This may involve partnering or licensing the technology to an existing company or forming a start-up. The majority of licenses result from contacts that the inventor or OTC have already made.

Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC) Revenue Distribution Plan

OTCs Revenue distribution plan (RDP) contains information useful for understanding how income from the commercialization of inventions is distributed among inventors, labs, departments and schools.

OTC is responsible for managing the expenses and revenues associated with technology agreements. Per University Policy, revenues from license fees, royalties and equity—minus any unreimbursed patenting and file expenses—are shared with inventors. Under University Policy, inventors who receive equity from a licensee are permitted to share in revenues received by the University from the associated agreement. License revenues are typically taxed as Form 1099 income. A tax advisor should be consulted for specific and detailed advice.