The Licensing Process

The formal reporting of an invention to our Technology Transfer team initiates the process of intellectual property (IP) protection and licensing for any invention made under the University's Intellectual Property policy. We encourage inventors to make a Report of Invention before making any public disclosure, such as a publication, lecture or poster, as these may affect the protectability of the invention. The more information that we receive about your invention and your commercial vision, the better we can prepare to move it forward. Please use our Inventor Portal, best accessed via Internet Explorer.

After reviewing your submission, within 2 weeks, the JHTV team will reach out to you for further discussion about your technology. An Intellectual Property Manager (IPM) will evaluate the intellectual property potential and our Technology Licensing Analyst (TLA) and Business Analysts will help to evaluate the commercialization opportunity and licensing strategies.

Within 2 months of your report of invention, the JHTV team will follow up with you about next steps. This could include (A) the decision to pursue intellectual property protection and licensing, (B) the recommendation for further technology development to enhance the commercialization potential, or (C) a determination the technology is not patentable or lacks a commercial value proposition.

Our team works hard to give every Johns Hopkins technology a deep review in order to best allocate university resources and maximize the chance that our Intellectual Property will make it to the marketplace. Given the increasingly high bar for patentability and the cost of patenting (from $10,500 to $100,000+), we regret that we are unable to pursue every technology as reported. If JHTV recommends not filing an immediate patent application, we will discuss your other options, including filing for a different type of IP protection, awaiting additional data, or securing translational funding that can advance a technology toward commercialization.

Often through a patent - and sometimes through a copyright, trademark, or know-how filing - our team will help to secure appropriate protection for the invention. A Patent Attorney will oversee this process, but inventors often play an active role in drafting the patent application or otherwise reviewing the application.

Once a patent is filed, JHTV will start the process for marketing and outreach. A summary of the technology will be posted to our publicly available Technology Database, and the Technology Licensing Associate (TLA) will work with an inventor to identify potential licensees.

Technologies may be licensed to established corporate entities or to inventor-initiated startup companies. Technologies licenses can also be made on a non-exclusive basis to several third parties. JHTV works collaboratively with inventors to identify the appropriate path. Where a startup company is formed, our FastForward team will assist in business planning and fundraising and provides subsidized innovation space.

Inventors and their labs, schools, departments, and the University all share in any income earned after patent and other licensing expenses are re-paid. The distribution of this revenue is governed by the University IP Policy.

JHTV licensing agreements are structured to ensure that licensees advance the technologies toward the marketplace, in the spirit of our academic mission for impact on the world. JHTV tracks product development and sales milestones to ensure that technologies are advancing and that appropriate revenues flow back to university stakeholders. Where appropriate, JHTV also enforces its IP rights against infringement.