Yale University
Current Patent Policy
Recovery of Expenses. Royalties shall be used first to offset out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the University in applying for, obtaining, and defending a patent and in developing and negotiating license agreements during the life of the patent. Expenses for this purpose will include fees paid to outside legal, consulting, and licensing organizations and any other out-of-pocket costs incurred by the University. The fees paid to the external individuals or organizations for such services may be of fixed dollar amount or may be in the form of an agreed-upon fraction of the gross royalty income, if any, or in any other form directly associated with commercialization/licensing of the invention. In addition, 10% of Royalties, after reduction as provided above for out-of-pocket expenses, received in any year from an invention made on or after April 11, 1992 shall be retained by the University and applied toward the general support of the Office of Cooperative Research; provided, that if the total of such recoveries in any year exceeds the Office’s approved budget, the excess shall be allocated in a pro rata basis among those inventions from which it was recovered and shall be distributed as part of Net Royalties in accordance with subparagraph (d).
Net Royalties. After recovery of expenses by the University as provided in subparagraph (b), the remaining royalties will be designated Net Royalties.
Distribution of Net Royalties. The Net Royalties as defined above shall be divided between the Inventor(s) (as defined under the patent law) and the University as follows:
- The first $100,000 of Net Royalties
- 50% to the Inventor(s)
- 50% allocated to the general support of University research, as described in paragraph 5.
- Net Royalties between $100,000 and $200,000
- 40% to the Inventor(s)
- 60% allocated to the general support of University research, as described in paragraph 5.
- Net Royalties exceeding $200,000
- 30% to the Inventor(s)
- 70% allocated to the general support of University research, as described in paragraph 5.
This policy states it was revised in 1998; it is unclear if the royalty-sharing provisions were different before that.
