NASA has the authority to grant licenses on its domestic and foreign patents and patent applications.
All NASA licenses are individually negotiated with the prospective licensee, and each license contains terms concerning commercialization (practical application), license duration, royalties, and periodic reporting. NASA patent licenses may be exclusive, partially exclusive, or nonexclusive.
A legal document granting intellectual property rights to another party for their sole use in a given field of use or geographic area.
A legal document granting intellectual property rights to an unlimited number of parties in a given field of use or geographic area.
A legal document granting intellectual property rights to a pre-determined number of recipients (more than one) for a specific field of use or geographic area. This is also referred to as a Field of Use license.
Thinking about licensing a technology, please be sure to read our Commercialization Plans page to learn about what the NASA IPP Office will need from you.
Please contact the IPP Office for information at technology@dfrc.nasa.gov.