Licensing & Startup Formation
Commercializing Your Innovation
OTD places a great deal of focus on developing effective strategies to commercialize Harvard IP. We will work with you to determine whether it is most appropriate to partner with an existing company or to launch a new startup venture. In either case, the main transaction would be a licensing agreement:
Establishing a License
OTD works to make licensing your innovation as straightforward as possible, while supporting inventors throughout the process. OTD will negotiate a formal license agreement with a partner (or partners) who are well-equipped and well-positioned to commercialize the technology and maximize its impact.
Types of Licenses
Licensing Harvard innovations can range from OTD’s ExpressPath licenses, which offer preset terms to establish a license quickly, to custom tailor-made licenses. To give you a sense of how licenses take shape, below are a few illustrative sample license agreements.
First Step: Protect Your Innovation!
Submit a Report of Innovation and a Confidentiality Agreement. Learn more about protecting your innovation.
Sample Licenses & Agreements
ExpressPath license
Harvard’s ExpressPath license is a standardized, startup-friendly license with pre-set business terms to provide a faster, simpler way for Harvard innovators to launch startups. The ExpressPath license is built to provide a quicker, streamlined process, lower upfront cost, with clear and consistent financial terms to give founders and investors predictable expectations. Because different technologies have different commercialization paths, the Harvard ExpressPath is offered in three license categories:
Engineering and Tech ExpressPath License
Medical Devices ExpressPath License
Software ExpressPath License
Harvard’s ExpressPath license process
Basic exclusive license
Harvard’s basic exclusive license, intended for licensing situations where a more customized approach is warranted, grants a single licensee the exclusive right to develop and commercialize a specific Harvard technology within defined fields, financial considerations, and diligence obligations. Harvard retains ownership of the underlying intellectual property.
Sample License Agreement With Exclusive Patent Rights
Nonexclusive license
Harvard’s non-exclusive license grants a licensee to develop and commercialize a specific Harvard technology while permitting Harvard to grant similar rights to other licensees. The technology is licensed within defined fields, financial considerations, and diligence obligations. Harvard retains ownership of the underlying intellectual property.
Sample Nonexclusive License (for patent rights)
Materials licenses
Harvard offers certain materials (usually biological research materials) for commercial use on a non-exclusive basis. Some materials, such as mice, are typically offered on a flat-fee basis or with fixed yearly payments; others, such as hybridoma cell lines, include royalty-based payments as well.
Sample Materials License – Royalty-based
Sample Materials License – Flat-fee-based
Basic option agreement
Harvard also offers option agreements to companies that are considering licensing a Harvard technology. An option agreement permits a company to “hold” a technology for a short period of time, during which the company can further evaluate its potential, or raise funding for product development, without committing itself or Harvard to the obligations of a license agreement. Options are usually six months to one year in duration and typically require both an upfront fee and patent prosecution reimbursement during the option term.
A note on global access—Development of technologies borne from Harvard patent rights may lead to licensed products that could result in significant public health benefits in developing countries. Harvard has made a commitment, through its participation in the organization Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, to promote affordable access to such products in developing countries. To meet that commitment, we may require provisions similar to those given in the link below in exclusive licenses of such potentially impactful technology.
A note on third-party proposed products—In the case of an exclusive license granted in all or many fields, the licensee may initially be focused on a limited number of products or uses for the licensed technology. To support Harvard’s mission to promote the public good by commercializing Harvard-owned technology as broadly as possible, Harvard may include provisions similar to those given in the link below to encourage a licensee to develop products proposed by third parties, or to sublicense the licensee’s rights in the Harvard patent rights to such a third party, to allow the development and commercialization of additional products.