Licensing Technology
UCF is America’s Partnership University™
We are committed to developing and strengthening partnerships with universities, organizations, and companies that advance discoveries and innovations to bolster student learning and impact our neighborhoods and global economy. You can partner with us by checking out the Tech Locator page to find solutions to meet your company’s goals, taking the startup leap by choosing a technology from our hand curated Startups Start Here list, or by sponsoring research.
Together, we can create a lasting legacy that improves the way we all live, work, and play.
License Agreements
By licensing university technology, you become part of a community of innovators and doers. A license agreement allows you, the licensee, to use, make, and sell University-owned technology. This is called technology commercialization and advances discoveries and innovation which bolsters student learning and impacts our neighborhoods and global economy.
A license agreement with UCF may include the following elements:
License Fee
Once the agreement is signed, license fees are paid. The amount is determined by the market value of the technology.
Patent Reimbursement
These fees are paid by the licensee to the University to offset patent processing costs. These costs may include domestic and foreign patent filing fees and intellectual property attorney’s fees.
Development Period with Milestone Payments
Our technologies are often very early stage. When a technology needs additional development, our license agreements often provide for a development period. Once the agreement is executed, quarterly developmental reports are required to ensure active product development. In some cases with extended developmental timetables, milestone payments help can reduce initial license fees on projects with greater risk since these payments are made only if the development continues successfully.
Royalties
These are paid by the licensee to the University Foundation when commercialization is achieved; meaning products using the licensed technology are sold. They may be negotiated to be calculated on a percentage-of-sales or fee-per-unit basis.
Minimum Royalty
At the end of the development period, we expect an annual minimum royalty. This amount is relatively low compared to the expected royalties. Royalties earned will offset the minimum royalty, so the minimum royalty is normally not an additional fee. Minimums are designed to encourage active marketing of the licensed technology.
Equity
Sometimes, especially for start-up companies, we can agree to waive the usual cash license fees in exchange for an equity stake in the company. This allows a start-up company to preserve its cash assets for research and development efforts.
Commercializing UCF Technology
How to get started.
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Identify and evaluate a specific innovation
The University of Central Florida is a research university and our faculty, staff, and students are innovating every day. We have many research disciplines touching dozens of marketplace categories. Often, industry partners identify a potential technology through relationships with our inventors, licensing managers, or by searching our easy to navigate portfolio of technologies currently available for licensing.
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Request additional information
Once you have identified a specific technology, contact our office. We will provide non-confidential information, or we may execute a Confidential Disclosure Agreement in order to provide the most amount of information. In order to gain more technical details, we may introduce you the inventor(s). If you would like to pursue internal research to test the technology, we may suggest signing a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) in order to share samples or a prototype with you.
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Term sheet
We will sometimes provide an initial Term Sheet based on our discussions with you. This Term Sheet will outline plans for exclusivity, field of use, grant of rights, and sublicense provisions. Royalties, license issue fees, minimums, milestone payments, equity, and other terms are customized to fit each unique license agreement.
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Produce, negotiate, and sign a license agreement
We will draft an agreement based on our discussions with you, using the terms outlined in the Term Sheet, if applicable, and the legal terms required by the university’s policies. The agreement may include developmental timelines, performance milestones, revenue projections, how the technology fits within your current priorities, and how you plan to bring the product to market. Once both parties agree to the final language, we will execute the agreement.
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Develop and enter the marketplace!
Our team of licensing professionals works closely with you to monitor performance and to adjust developmental milestones, when appropriate, to ensure successful commercialization of the technology. Licensees are required to respond annually on the progress of product development utilizing university owned technology.
