Top Licensing Questions Answered: Your Guide to NASA Technology Transfer

Curious about licensing groundbreaking NASA technologies for your business? In this post, we dive into the most frequently asked questions about the NASA Technology Transfer Program’s licensing process. Read on for practical insights on how to unlock innovative solutions and bring space-age advancements to your enterprise.

Where can I find key details on NASA’s licensing process? Where is the best place to start?

The NASA Technology Transfer Program evaluates, patents, and then licenses out new NASA-developed technologies that have potential to benefit the country through commercialization. You can find a general overview of the licensing process here - Licensing NASA Technology | T2 Portal.

What exactly is NASA offering with a “patent license”?

NASA offers research licenses (sometimes called evaluation licenses) and commercial licenses. Most companies start off with the research license, a fixed-term agreement (usually 12 months, but can be longer) that typically allows the licensee to do any development work, testing, and prototyping needed to create a final product or service. It allows access to any supporting materials NASA may have available for the licensed technology and often consultation hours with the inventors. What is available will vary by the technology. Typically, this license agreement carries a one-time $2,500 royalty to NASA. The research license does not allow commercial sales as that requires a commercial license. You can think of it like a “trial period” license for those early development and integration stages of working with a new technology.

The commercial license is a longer-term agreement, typically lasting for the life of the patent unless terminated early by either party. In addition to the benefits of the research license, it also grants you the rights to develop, market, and sell products or services based on the technology, enabling you to bring innovations to the market and generate revenue. The royalty structure includes an initial fee, an annual minimum royalty, and a small running royalty based on the percentage of sales. The dollar amounts will vary and can be negotiated during the application period. In some cases, NASA can negotiate exclusivity with a licensee. U.S.-based startup companies may qualify for more startup-friendly commercial or research license terms, but the NASA licensing team can tailor license terms to meet a company’s needs.

What if we want to collaborate with NASA, or need additional hands-on support from NASA?

In cases where a licensee will require more hands on support or collaboration from our inventors, or perhaps needs to leverage NASA capabilities as part of their work, NASA would typically need to pair a license with a Space Act Agreement (SAA). Several conditions have to be met before an SAA can be considered, and details would need to be discussed with the licensing team. In some cases, these agreements may arise through licensing conversations, but are often initiated through NASA Partnerships - NASA. If you are interested in doing business with NASA beyond patent licensing, those opportunities are covered by Doing Business with NASA - NASA.

What if we are a non-US company? How does the licensing process differ?

For Non-US Companies:

NASA’s priority is to license its U.S. taxpayer-funded technologies to benefit the American taxpayers, through increasing US economic competitiveness and/or promoting public availability of new products and services. 

While our licenses are most often to domestic companies, NASA can consider granting licenses to foreign-owned companies, though with some additional considerations:

• NASA’s patents are filed with the USPTO and within the United States jurisdiction. We only file PCT applications when a licensee is willing to pay for the additional patenting costs in the countries they select (within 1 year of filing the original U.S. patent.)

• Licenses to foreign-owned companies requires additional steps and reviews, which can introduce an additional 6 to 8 weeks to the licensing process. This includes approval by the U.S. Trade Representative coordinated by NASA.

• The license shall normally be granted only to a licensee who agrees that any products embodying the invention or produced using the invention will be manufactured substantially in the U.S. However, this condition can be waived or modified.

For more information see eCFR :: 37 CFR Part 404 -- Licensing of Government-Owned Inventions and NPD 2090.6A

Can you give an overview of the licensing process, and what to expect?:

There is a brief summary of the license process here: Licensing NASA Technology | T2 Portal. Typically, companies first review the technology listing, the patents, and additional sources of information that are included on the technology listing page. Additional information can also be found on the  NASA Technical Reports Server. If the company wants to move forward and explore licensing options in more detail, they will initiate the license application process online and the application submission will give the NASA licensing team all they need to work through licensing options for that technology, including which type of agreement and terms might best fit the company and goals. This is a good time to ask lingering technical questions or get clarity on what support is available to licensees of that intellectual property. Once complete, the NASA licensing team will draft an agreement for both parties to sign.

What are the steps to submit a License Application?

License Application Process Instructions:

1. Open the technology listing you want to apply for (browse T2 Patent Portfolio | T2 Portal (nasa.gov) for listings)  and click “apply to license” on the upper right side of the technology listing.
    
2.  Read the text on the next page closely before you continue. You will be prompted to create a NASA guest account if you do not have one yet. This can also be referred to as your AUID (Agency User ID) login when you return to log in later. You can also set up the account at this link: https://guest.nasa.gov/.
   • If you get logged out in the future, the login credentials would be the email you associated with the guest account and the password you create.
      
3. The application should now open automatically. If not, return to the TOPS listing and click to apply again and it should open. This application form is designed to work for any licensing case, but if you feel any questions are difficult to answer at this point just try to give the best answer you can.
    
4. Complete the rest of the application form with detailed and specific answers to the extent possible. Remember to save your application regularly as you work on it.
   • Do not leave the application open in your browser for an extended time and come back to it later or you may have cached data issues – save and close when you are not actively working.
      
5. Click “sign and submit”, then a read-only version of your application will load for your review. Scroll to the bottom of the form and complete the e-signature to verify your application looks correct and complete this initial submission. You will receive a confirmation email from our automated system once completed.
    
6. From here, the NASA licensing team will review your submission and follow up with you to discuss agreement terms, answer any lingering questions you have.
    
7. Assuming both parties intend to move forward with a license agreement, your initial submission will be accepted by NASA and you will be prompted by email to complete one more set of questions that are specific to your license type. Once you submit those, your application process is complete and the NASA team can complete their final decision/approval and move to next steps (draft license for review and signature).

Any other tips to ensure a smooth application process?

Save your applications regularly as you work on them, and you can return to your applications at any time using this link: https://technology.nasa.gov/apply/dashboard/

Who can I contact if I have more in-depth questions about the licensing process?

If you have questions about the licensing process, please contact us at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov.

We hope this Q&A has shed light on your most pressing licensing questions and provided you with a clearer understanding of the application process. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to innovate with NASA technology or a researcher aiming to advance scientific frontiers, our goal is to support your journey every step of the way. If you have further inquiries, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.