In an effort to generate more revenue while encouraging innovation, NASA’s Technology Transfer Program has initiated a new service that has little to do with its well-known ventures of space exploration.
Addressing two common issues that start-ups face, NASA start-up initiative will help raise capital and secure intellectual property rights for those that are interested in using one of the more than 1,200-patented NASA technologies for new products and services. NASA’s patented technologies range from materials and coatings to sensors, aeronautics technologies, instrumentation and more.
On the Start-Up License Request form, a start-up would state the technology and patents it plans on licensing, the proposed technology use, and plans for development and marketing along with projections of expenses and income.
NASA pledges to waive at least the first three years of a company’s product development cost and once the product or service is brought to market, NASA will collect a “standard net royalty fee” without impedance to the inventors’ rights to their invention.
“The start-up NASA initiative leverages the results of our cutting-edge research and development so entrepreneurs can take that research — and some risks — to create new products and new services,” said David Miller, NASA’s chief technologist.
NASA also set a couple of guidelines for start-up companies to adhere in order to obtain a license to their patented technology.
