Ohio U. leads state in revenue from licensing

DATELINE: ATHENS, Ohio

With $3.2 million in licensing income, Ohio University received the highest licensing income in the state for the fiscal year 2006.

Licensing income, such as royalties and milestone fees -- fees which are paid after specific pre-arranged landmarks have been met -- generally come from companies that have purchased the rights to make, use and sell a university's innovation, said Lisa Rooney, director of the university's Technology Transfer Office. The companies also reimburse the university for past patent expenses and pay an up-front fee for purchasing the license.

Most of OU's licensing income comes from a 1988 drug patent for people with acromegaly, a form of gigantism which causes substantial growth of bones and organs in adults, developed at the university's Edison Biotechnology Institute.

Before the university sees a profit from the research performed at the school, however, each technology must go through the same process. Once an invention disclosure form, an application used by OU to help assess an invention, is filled out, the Technology Transfer Office assesses the technology's patentability, the estimated size of the market, a detailed list of companies who wish to purchase the technology and decide in what countries to patent the technology.

"They look at whether it is novel, whether there is prior art," Rooney said. "Even if you can get a patent, we need to determine what the likelihood is of it getting into the market place; one factor being what will it cost?"

If found desirable, the Technology Transfer Office will patent the technology. A patent is gained through the U.S. government to copyright or license an individual's idea. Patenting a technology generally costs anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000, Rooney said.

Once patented licensed agreements are negotiated with companies, a company is allowed to make, use and sell the technology.The money obtained from the agreements is given back to the university.

Some of the money received goes back into the department and college of the inventors and the inventors themselves, while the university keeps the rest. OU also received more than $57 million in external sponsors and more than $20 million from the government to continue research during the fiscal year 2006.

OU currently possesses 76 issued patents and 105 active patent applications and invention disclosures.

"I think we have a strong technology transfer program," Rooney said, adding that the number of patents filed is a chief indicator.

OU is currently attempting to obtain a patent for an ammonia catalytic electrolyzer, which converts ammonia into hydrogen and can in turn be used as fuel. This technology was developed by Gerardine Botte, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology and purchased by the American Hydrogen Corp.

"We have faculty working on innovative ideas.We are taking those ideas back into the marketplace.They are benefiting society," said James Rankin, interim vice president of Research.

"As we encourage more faculty and staff to start companies, it results in economic growth in the community," Rooney said. "This is a benefit to the academic community, as well. Technology transfer brings in more ties to companies, and with increasing industry research, going on, students can help solve real world problems."

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