Technology Licensing Agreements

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Allows businesses or other non-federal entities to license NNSS technologies.

Intellectual property (IP) developed by NNSS is typically held by NNSS and licensed through NNSS’ technology transfer organization. Because of the unique set of laws related to IP generated at DOE laboratories, licensing agreements for these technologies include some provisions that may not be present in a license agreement between private entities (e.g., march-in-rights, government-use rights, and indemnification of the federal government). Learn more in the licensing guide.
Typical financial and milestone terms present in a commercial license include:

An issue fee, which is non-refundable and due upon execution of the agreement
A running royalty, which is most commonly based on a percentage of sales
A minimum annual royalty
Other financial terms appropriate to the technology and market, such as milestone payments and patent cost reimbursements
Equity ownership terms which may be negotiated in some cases in lieu of cash payments
Milestone commitments for development (e.g., alpha and beta products) and introduction of commercial product in marketplace. Licenses may be exclusive for a particular field of use or geographic region, or non-exclusive.

Most of the technologies available for licensing will require additional development before they are commercially viable. An Option Agreement is available that protects an entity’s right to license a technology at a future time. Option Agreements are generally available for a time period of one year. NNSS will approve an extension to the Option Agreement if sufficient milestones toward making the technology commercially viable have been met. Several of the technologies available for licensing can be found on the NNSS website. These technologies can be viewed under the “Missions” tab for user access.
Cost

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