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In- and Out-Licensing

There are a number of reasons why a company may find it advantageous or necessary to in-license a product or technology:

• Allow a business to quickly expand its portfolio of potential candidates without the risks and costs involved with substantial R&D
• Expand a business by in-licensing technologies that are complementary to those developed in-house
• Enable a company to obtain rights in platform technologies to assist in internal R&D activities
• It can be necessary to obtain a license to avoid an infringement action by a third party

Likewise, there are numerous reasons to out-license a product or technology. However, based on the experience of TCI the principle reasons are:

• Obtain a return on investment for product development
• A shift in corporate emphasis to concentrate on “core competencies”
• Desire to generate income from “Lazy Patents” and/or a good early stage technology not meeting criteria for investment/development
• Achieve faster development of the licensed technology through the use of R&D grant-backs by the licensee
• Expand into an export market niche through regional licensing

Both in- and out-licensing require a range of activities, including: strategic planning, targeting of potential opportunities, contact with potential partners, negotiation and management of deals post-completion. As a fully integrated technology licensing company, TCI has assisted in the development of more than 500 technology and strategic alliance agreements. This experience allows TCI to easily assist clients in the various aspects of the licensing process. This includes:

• Scouting of potential technologies or products
• Preparation of pricing scenarios to optimize the mix of upfront and royalty payments
• Identification and analysis of the market
• Determination of the optimal licensing strategy (such as Options Licenses)
• Initiation and scheduling of meetings with potential licensors/licensees
• Development of the dossier or information package (the basic marketing tool)
• Negotiation of the terms and conditions of the license agreement

For additional information regarding TCI’s Out-Licensing Service, please visit our Services Section.


Example Projects include:

Paint and Coating Technologies
One of the world’s leading coatings companies regularly uses TCI to out-license technologies. TCI has successfully identified licensing and strategic alliance opportunities for technologies ranging from alkyd-acrylic to polyurethane dispersions.

Selective Alcohol Oxidation Technology
TCI’s client developed unique alcohol to aldehyde and/or ketone oxidation technology. It features essentially no byproduct, offers high yield, is environmentally clean, and has no effect on double bonds or sulfur. Based on our experience, direct interviews with potential users, and in comparison to technologies at a similar stage of development, we identified several opportunities to out-license the technology in the fine chemicals field.

Lubricants and Additives
For a leading lubricant producer, TCI identified in-licensing opportunities for pour-point depressants and rheology control modifiers.