I have a great relationship with a sales representative from XYZ Corp. May I negotiate a license agreement for my technology with him?

No.  Wake Forest is the owner of all intellectual property that is developed at Wake Forest, and only OTAM may negotiate licenses.  However, inventors can and do play a key role in the licensing process by contributing their knowledge of the field and commercial contacts.  If you think a certain company may have an interest in licensing your invention, contact OTAM.

If my invention was licensed for a fee of $100,000, how much do I get?

Under Wake Forest’s Invention and Patent Policy that was adopted by the board of trustees in February 1999, inventors receive 35% of gross licensing revenues. So, in this case, the inventor(s) would receive $35,000. Most other universities recoup all of their patenting and licensing expenses before sharing with inventors.

My technology has been exclusively licensed to a company. Does that mean that it may not be licensed to any other company?

Technology that has been exclusively licensed to a company for a particular use may not be licensed to any other company for that same use.  There are occasions when a technology has utility in more than one field such that it has multiple possible uses.  In that situation, it may be licensed exclusively to one company to be used for purpose X, and licensed to another company to be used for purpose Y.  The field of use outlined in the license agreement determines whether or not an exclusively licensed technology may be licensed to another company.

Why does the university need my social security number?

Your SSN is used to process royalty payments that are generated from your inventions.  The process for distributing royalty payments is governed by the US tax provisions and it covers both the university and the inventor.