CLP CLP Technology Transfer & IP Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Technology transfer offices (TTOs) at universities primarily fulfill which role in the licensing ecosystem?
- Commercializing faculty inventions by patenting and licensing them to industry (Correct answer)
- Conducting patent litigation on behalf of inventors
- Setting federal research funding priorities
- Enforcing export control regulations
Correct answer: Commercializing faculty inventions by patenting and licensing them to industry
TTOs manage the identification, protection, and licensing of university-developed inventions to translate academic research into commercial products.
Question 2: The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 is significant to US technology transfer because it:
- Allows universities and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions made with federal funding (Correct answer)
- Requires all federally funded inventions to remain in the public domain
- Establishes the USPTO's patent examination procedures
- Mandates royalty-free licenses for government contractors
Correct answer: Allows universities and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions made with federal funding
Bayh-Dole enabled universities and small businesses to take title to federally funded inventions, catalyzing the modern university licensing industry.
Question 3: A march-in right under the Bayh-Dole Act allows the federal government to:
- Require the patent owner to license the invention to other parties if it is not being adequately commercialized (Correct answer)
- Revoke the patent if the inventor misrepresents research results
- Audit the university's technology transfer royalty accounts
- Block export of the licensed technology to foreign countries
Correct answer: Require the patent owner to license the invention to other parties if it is not being adequately commercialized
March-in rights permit the government to grant licenses to third parties when the Bayh-Dole recipient fails to bring the invention to practical application.
Question 4: What is a material transfer agreement (MTA) in the context of technology transfer?
- A contract governing the sharing of tangible research materials between institutions (Correct answer)
- A license granting rights to manufacture a patented product
- An agreement to transfer title of intellectual property to a third party
- A document authorizing export of controlled biological agents
Correct answer: A contract governing the sharing of tangible research materials between institutions
An MTA defines the terms under which biological or other research materials are transferred between organizations, specifying use restrictions and IP ownership.
Question 5: In university licensing, what distinguishes an exclusive license from an assignment?
- An exclusive license retains ownership with the licensor while granting sole rights to the licensee; an assignment transfers ownership entirely (Correct answer)
- An assignment is temporary while an exclusive license is permanent
- An exclusive license is limited to one field while an assignment covers all uses
- There is no practical legal difference between the two
Correct answer: An exclusive license retains ownership with the licensor while granting sole rights to the licensee; an assignment transfers ownership entirely
With an exclusive license the university keeps title but grants all exploitation rights to one party; with an assignment, title itself passes to the new owner.
Question 6: Which type of IP protection is most commonly used for protecting software algorithms in the United States?
- Patents and trade secrets (Correct answer)
- Trademark registration only
- Geographic indications
- Plant variety protection certificates
Correct answer: Patents and trade secrets
Software algorithms are typically protected through patents (for novel functional methods) and trade secrets (for proprietary code kept confidential).
CLP CLP Technology Transfer & IP Management 1
Technology transfer offices (TTOs) at universities primarily fulfill which role in the licensing ecosystem?