What factors influence university decisions to license patents either exclusively or non-exclusively?
University decisions on whether to license a patent only to one company or to a number of companies are based on several factors. However, universities are generally most influenced by two major determinants: (1) what kind of licensing is most likely to lead to rapid commercialization; and (2) what kind of licensing is in the public interest. Patents which are broad in scope and can be used in multiple industries, or patents that are so basic that they form the building blocks for new technologies are most likely to be licensed non-exclusively, or by fields of use. An exclusive, “field-of-use” license is a way to protect a market for a company while enabling the university to identify more than one licensee to assure public utilization of the technology in all markets. Stanford University’s Cohen-Boyer patent is an example of a basic patent that was licensed to all companies needing it. Non-exclusive licensing is preferred by universities when the technology can be used to foster produ
