Software-based technologies present challenges to the most experienced university technology managers when it comes to licensing. These technologies are often not patentable, released under an open source license, or the software is frequently rewritten - making the original code less valuable. Therefore, faculty frequently don’t disclose software, and companies commonly avoid licensing software IP from the universities.
To address this problem, a number of universities have pioneered simple software licenses or other non-traditional agreements to increase the number of software spinouts that execute agreements with universities. These agreements often include nominal equity, no royalties, and streamlined language.
Recently, UC Berkeley and Michigan, among others, have launched such efforts. Michigan has focused on software licenses with reduced economics and ancillary services to help software spinouts post-license. UC Berkeley developed an "Open Source Startup Good-Standing Agreement" (ipira.berkeley.edu/OS3) for startups that spin out of the university and leverage software open sourced by Berkeley. The agreement confirms the spinout is in good-standing and grants the university 1% equity plus participation rights.
Please join OUP for a webinar where these two universities will discuss their experiences with establishing and troubleshooting their software IP programs:
· Drew Bennett, Associate Director of Licensing, Software, Mobile and Digital Technologies, University of Michigan
· Mike Cohen, Director, Innovation Ecosystem Development & Associate Director, OTL, UC Berkeley
Topics the panelists will discuss include the structures of their software IP programs, startup adaption of these agreements, and lessons learned.
