We continually assess the commercial potential of ERDC’s technologies and pursue patent, trademark or other intellectual protection for technologies deemed commercially viable. A new patent’s term is 20 years from the date the patent’s application was filed in the U.S. or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed.

ERDC patents may be categorized as either a utility, design or plant patent. See the list of ERDC patents available for licensing.

Licenses for ERDC’s intellectual property allows organizations to make and sell products based on licensed patented technologies. Licenses may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis, providing the most flexible and business-friendly approach to the broad range of companies and industries that license our technologies.

A license agreement is appropriate to use when a company or other entity desires to license a patent or patent application for commercialization or research purposes. There are three types of licenses that may be negotiated:

• An exclusive license restricts the use of an invention to a single licensee.
• A partially exclusive license allows multiple licensees but restricts the use of the invention by any single licensee to a particular geographic area or to a particular use.
• A nonexclusive license can be issued to any number of licensees.

We offer two different licensing agreements:

• Evaluation License
• Commercial License

Regardless of the type of license, the government retains its rights to use an invention and to grant nonexclusive research licenses. Royalties are negotiated on a case-by-case basis and take many factors into account, such as type of license agreement, market size, exclusivity, or whether additional technology development is needed. The laboratory may provide technical assistance on a reimbursable basis if needed to further develop the technology.

If you are interested in the licensing opportunities at ERDC, please contact us at tto@usace.army.mil.

There are a variety of partnering mechanisms for technology transfer with ERDC. Explore these partnering mechanisms.