Licensing Technology with NASA

NASA was established on July 29, 1958, when former President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.  This act “provided for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere” and was the cornerstone of the establishment of NASA. The following acts support NASA engaging in technology transfer:

1. The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 allowed federal laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), which allowed and required technology transfer to be part of the mission for federal labs.  This enabled federal agencies to allocate resources toward the process of technology transfer.  

2. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 enables nonprofit research institutes universities and small businesses to own, patent and commercialize inventions developed under federally funded research programs.  This act set forth a uniform set of rules to make the technology transfer process work.  It allows the entity who created the technology to retain title and actively license the technology, giving entities an incentive to make discoveries.  

3. The Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) of 1986, an act that builds on the Stevenson-Wydler Act, allows government inventors to patent their technologies and share the royalties when patents are licensed.  This is important because it gave a push across, the federal laboratories, to put more focus on finding real-world applications for federally funded technology.  Essentially, reinvesting taxpayer dollars that were spent on technology developed at a federal laboratory into the economy through licenses and partnerships.

Steps to License NASA Technology

Step 1: Find a Technology

NASA's Technology Transfer Portal hosts information on all of the NASA-developed technologies available to your business. Our patent portfolio contains more than 1,200 technologies that have been organized into categories and made searchable so you can easily identify technologies suited for your business needs.

Step 2: Apply for a Technology License

Once you've found a technology, applying for a technology license is simple and straightforward. With the click of a button, you can begin the online application process using NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS). The system will guide you through every step of the licensing application process and keep you updated about the status of your application.

Every technology license is different. We’ll work with you to design an agreement that helps you achieve your business goals. Licenses can be:

• 1. Standard Commercial License

• 2. Evaluation License

• 3. Startup License

NASA offers a "Standard Commercial License" for companies to make and sell products using NASA's patented technologies. While NASA offers standard licensing templates, each can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

The important details:

• Available to domestic and international organizations

• Exclusive, partially-exclusive, or non-exclusive

• Agreements include an upfront fee, annual minimum royalty, and a running royalty

• Terms are negotiated on a case-by-case basis

Requirements of a Commercial license application:

• Part I:

  • List of all requested technologies

  • Company contact information

  • Basic plan for the use of the NASA technology

  • Proposed fees and royalties

• Part II:

  • Technology development plan

  • Marketing and sales plan

  • Projected financial statements, including investment requirements

  • Current balance sheet and income statement

  • Management and staffing plan

  • Risk assessment and mitigation

Step 3: Set Terms for the Agreement

After submitting your license application, the terms of the agreement are worked out by you and the NASA license manager. When you talk with the NASA licensing team, you will learn that there are 3 components to licensing fees:

• an upfront fee—a lump sum payable on the signing of the patent license agreement. For non-exclusive licenses, these upfront fees usually range from $5,000 to $10,000, though we offer special licensing terms with no up-front fees to startup companies. Exclusive license fees are higher, and since each one is unique, it is difficult to provide an accurate range. It is through the upfront fees that NASA seeks to recover some of its investment in the patent filing and maintenance costs.

• yearly minimum royalties—Based on the business plan, these fees are designed to ensure that licensees are actively engaged in working toward commercial applications.

• running royalty percentage—Based on revenue, these fees are negotiated, but generally range anywhere from three to seven percent. They can also be negotiated down by a higher upfront fee. Within the range, fees may vary by the readiness/maturity of the technology, the industry application of the technology, and the exclusivity desired by your organization.

Considerations that impact licensing fees include:

• In what industry will the technology be sold or used?
  Royalty rates factor in the margins of the industries in which the licensee operates. Royalty rates in larger margin industries, such as aeronautics are higher than lower-margin industries like coatings or environmental.

• How mature is the technology?
  NASA licenses technologies at all stages of development. Less mature technology requires more investment from the licensee to develop the technology so lower fees and/or royalty rates may be justified; however, a mature technology is more market-ready and commands fees and/or royalty rates in the higher end of the range.

• What degree of exclusivity is needed?
  Exclusivity pushes fees to the higher end of the range, as it can provide significant value for a business plan. And, it limits competition and opportunities for multiple licenses.

Step 4: Sign the License

When terms for the license are set, NASA and the company execute the license under the terms of the agreement.

After the license is granted, NASA monitors the licensee’s sales of products and services that use the licensed technologies. Our team may write success stories and, upon approval by the licensee, these may be published on NASA’s Web site, in NASA’s Spinoff magazine, or other publications.

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

While our licenses are most often to domestic companies, we are able to license 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 US 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 US Trade Representative, a review process that NASA will coordinate.

• Licenses are typically granted to a company that agrees any resulting products will be primarily manufactured in the United States. (NASA may waive or modify this requirement if reasonable but unsuccessful efforts have been made to grant licenses to companies that would be likely to manufacture substantially in the United States or if domestic manufacture is not commercially feasible.)

For additional information, please visit35 USC Section 209 (b).

 Licensing Contact Information

Licensing Inquiries:
202-358-7432
Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov

NASA Technology Transfer Offices

The Technology Transfer Office at each of NASA’s 10 field centers represent NASA’s technology sources and manage center participation in technology transfer activities.

NASA Center Technology Transfer Offices

ARC – Ames Research Center. Information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, aerospace operations systems, rotorcraft, and thermal protection systems.
http://technology.arc.nasa.gov

AFRC – Armstrong Flight Research Center. Aerodynamics, aeronautics flight testing, aeropropulsion, flight systems, thermal testing, integrated systems test and validation.
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/centers/dfrc

GRC – Glenn Research Center. Aeropropulsion, communications, energy technology, high-temperature materials research.
https://technology.grc.nasa.gov

GSFC – Goddard Space Flight Center. Planetary science, LIDAR, cryogenic systems, tracking, telemetry, remote sensing, command.
http://techtransfer.gsfc.nasa.gov

JPL – Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Near- and deep-space mission engineering, microspacecraft, space communications, information systems, remote sensing, robotics.
http://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov

JSC – Johnson Space Center. Artificial intelligence and human-computer interface, life sciences, human space flight operations, avionics, sensors, communications.
http://technology.jsc.nasa.gov

KSC – Kennedy Space Center. Fluids and fluid systems; materials evaluation; process engineering; command, control, and monitor systems; range systems; environmental engineering and management.
https://technology-ksc.ndc.nasa.gov

LaRC – Langley Research Center. Aerodynamics, flight systems, materials, structures, sensors, measurements, information sciences.
http://technology.nasa.gov/larc

MSFC – Marshall Space Flight Center. Materials, manufacturing, nondestructive evaluation, biotechnology, space propulsion, controls and dynamics, structures, microgravity processing.
http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov

SSC – Stennis Space Center. Propulsion systems, remote sensing, nonintrusive instrumentation.
http://technology-ssc.ndc.nasa.gov

NASA T2 Program Page