Intellectual Property Management

We negotiate in-licensing terms with universities and government labs. In the past, this has included: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Harvard University; Drexel University; University of the Sciences; Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; US Naval Research Laboratory; US Army Research Laboratory; National Institutes of Health; University of Pittsburgh; University of Southern Mississippi; Michigan State University; and University of Mississippi.

Knowing what research institutions are allowed to and willing to accept is key to matching the right licensing terms to the business needs.

Internally, we evaluate on a monthly basis the status of projects and determine if filing additional patents is necessary. While universities often need to rush to patent so that the researchers can publish, we take a different tack for our internal discoveries.

Once a license is complete there’s still routine IP management that must occur including working with the lawyers to determine which claims are necessary for the business and looking for ways to avoid excessive costs which can easily overwhelm a young business.

Additionally, we negotiate out-licensing terms which are often complex deals when the underlying IP was initially licensed from a research institution.

IP management also includes copyrights and trademarks, non-disclosure agreements with customers, employees, suppliers and partners and trade secrets.