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Additional Information
OTD and University-Owned Software Inventions
Harvard's intellectual property policy states that creative works produced at the University should be disseminated for the greatest public benefit. OTD implements this policy by first assessing the patentability (or copyrightability) and marketability of inventions reported by faculty and staff, then finding the best way to protect the invention. If protection is warranted, Harvard assumes financial responsibility for obtaining the patent or copyright. OTD then markets the invention to companies best suited to further develop the technology. Any royalties resulting from licenses granted to industry are distributed to the inventor (and his or her respective department and Faculty) according to University policy.
This process applies as much to software as it does to "physical" inventions - with one significant difference: since patents can only be granted to an idea, and copyrights are issued to expressions of an idea, any reported software invention is first reviewed to determine which of the two forms of protection is most appropriate. (See the accompanying article, Copyrighting Software vs. Patenting Software.)
If research indicates that a software invention lacks commercial potential, Harvard may elect to not commercialize the invention. In such cases, the federal agency which sponsored the original research leading to the invention is given the opportunity to take legal title to the invention. If there is no expression of interest by the federal sponsor, Harvard may offer to return title of the invention to the inventor, in exchange for a small royalty for the University if the inventor is successful in generating revenues from the software.
Experience has shown that software of a non-scientific nature (for example, administrative, educational, or database) must be fairly well developed before a commercial distributor will find it attractive to license. Moreover, if OTD determines that the "niche market" nature of a given non-scientific software program may be more efficiently distributed by the University department which developed it, we will provide marketing counsel and licensing support to the department. An example of such a program is Prof. Christopher Murray's "Disease Incidence/Prevalence Analytical Model," which assists in calculating disease longevity and mortality, based on data input by end users. The program was written to run under Microsoft Windows®. Since 1995, Prof. Murray's group has licensed the program to over a dozen institutions and government agencies in ten countries.
On the other hand, potential licensees of scientific or technical software (for example, new operating systems, process control- or instrumentation-related programs) are usually willing to invest substantial funds to bring the invention up to commercial quality. Currently licensed examples of scientific or technical software include:
- Prof. Martin Karplus's CHARMM ("Chemistry at Harvard Molecular Mechanics") program, a widely used tool that models the dynamic behavior and characteristics of molecular systems. This powerful program, first commercialized in 1985, is presently licensed to Molecular Simulations, Inc. (Prof. Karplus's laboratory has also issued over 500 academic licenses directly to other research institutions.)
- William Lane's "Microchemistry Mass Spectrometer Protein Tools," a software program which provides an integrated set of protein sequence tools linked in an intranet environment with other tools for the analysis of proteins by mass spectrometry. This technology was licensed in 1989 to Finnigan Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-performance mass spectrometers.
- Prof. E.J. Corey's and Dr. Alan Long's LHASA ("Logic and Heuristics Applied to Synthetic Analysis"), computer software which assists chemists in solving problems in organic synthesis. Initially licensed in the mid-1980s, this program is presently in use at several dozen universities, chemical companies, and pharmaceutical firms.
- Former Prof. Victor Milenkovic's "Marker-Making Utility Software," which aids in the generation of efficient cutting plans (called "markers") for various sewn goods and other manufacturing scenarios. This software, originally licensed in 1991 to Microdynamics Corporation, is now incorporated into systems offered by Gerber Technology, Inc.'s CAD/CAM/CMS Division.
Additional Information
OTD and University-Owned Software Inventions
Harvard's intellectual property policy states that creative works produced at the University should be disseminated for the greatest public benefit. OTD implements this policy by first assessing the patentability (or copyrightability) and marketability of inventions reported by faculty and staff, then finding the best way to protect the invention. If protection is warranted, Harvard assumes financial responsibility for obtaining the patent or copyright. OTD then markets the invention to companies best suited to further develop the technology. Any royalties resulting from licenses granted to industry are distributed to the inventor (and his or her respective department and Faculty) according to University policy.
This process applies as much to software as it does to "physical" inventions - with one significant difference: since patents can only be granted to an idea, and copyrights are issued to expressions of an idea, any reported software invention is first reviewed to determine which of the two forms of protection is most appropriate. (See the accompanying article, Copyrighting Software vs. Patenting Software.)
If research indicates that a software invention lacks commercial potential, Harvard may elect to not commercialize the invention. In such cases, the federal agency which sponsored the original research leading to the invention is given the opportunity to take legal title to the invention. If there is no expression of interest by the federal sponsor, Harvard may offer to return title of the invention to the inventor, in exchange for a small royalty for the University if the inventor is successful in generating revenues from the software.
Experience has shown that software of a non-scientific nature (for example, administrative, educational, or database) must be fairly well developed before a commercial distributor will find it attractive to license. Moreover, if OTD determines that the "niche market" nature of a given non-scientific software program may be more efficiently distributed by the University department which developed it, we will provide marketing counsel and licensing support to the department. An example of such a program is Prof. Christopher Murray's "Disease Incidence/Prevalence Analytical Model," which assists in calculating disease longevity and mortality, based on data input by end users. The program was written to run under Microsoft Windows®. Since 1995, Prof. Murray's group has licensed the program to over a dozen institutions and government agencies in ten countries.
On the other hand, potential licensees of scientific or technical software (for example, new operating systems, process control- or instrumentation-related programs) are usually willing to invest substantial funds to bring the invention up to commercial quality. Currently licensed examples of scientific or technical software include:
- Prof. Martin Karplus's CHARMM ("Chemistry at Harvard Molecular Mechanics") program, a widely used tool that models the dynamic behavior and characteristics of molecular systems. This powerful program, first commercialized in 1985, is presently licensed to Molecular Simulations, Inc. (Prof. Karplus's laboratory has also issued over 500 academic licenses directly to other research institutions.)
- William Lane's "Microchemistry Mass Spectrometer Protein Tools," a software program which provides an integrated set of protein sequence tools linked in an intranet environment with other tools for the analysis of proteins by mass spectrometry. This technology was licensed in 1989 to Finnigan Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-performance mass spectrometers.
- Prof. E.J. Corey's and Dr. Alan Long's LHASA ("Logic and Heuristics Applied to Synthetic Analysis"), computer software which assists chemists in solving problems in organic synthesis. Initially licensed in the mid-1980s, this program is presently in use at several dozen universities, chemical companies, and pharmaceutical firms.
- Former Prof. Victor Milenkovic's "Marker-Making Utility Software," which aids in the generation of efficient cutting plans (called "markers") for various sewn goods and other manufacturing scenarios. This software, originally licensed in 1991 to Microdynamics Corporation, is now incorporated into systems offered by Gerber Technology, Inc.'s CAD/CAM/CMS Division.