Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory manages the intellectual property created by its employees in support of its research and technology transfer goals. The transfer of technology can include the licensing of inventions and other intellectual property (e.g., through licenses, options, bailments), and constitutes a business decision on the part of the University. The Laboratory manages conflict of interest and the appearance of conflict of interest in licensing per California law and the Operating Contract for the Lab. The Laboratory reviews many attributes, including conflict of interest, of every license, and hence meets the University requirement for a Licensing Decision Review. Inventors and other creators of intellectual property as well as licensing professionals have certain obligations as described herein. Altogether, the Laboratory inventors and licensing staff must not allow their personal financial interests to influence or appear to influence their or others’ University licensing decisions.
Licensing decisions for the University are made by licensing professionals within authorized campus and Laboratory licensing offices. At Berkeley Lab, the licensing professionals are members of the Technology Transfer Department. Inventors may be invited by the licensing professional to work with him or her and potential licensees to effectively commercialize University inventions.
Because inventors may have the opportunity to influence University licensing decisions in ways that could lead to personal gain or give advantage to companies in which they have a financial interest, inventors must disclose their financial interest in companies with which the licensing professional is negotiating a license. Underlying policy and guidelines are available under “Information for Inventors” at the LBNL Technology Transfer Web site.
The Lab process to manage potential conflicts of interest in licensing involves economic disclosure, self-disqualification where there is an interest by a licensing professional, and a multistep independent review of every license. This process is described under “Process for Conflict of Interest Review for Licensing at Berkeley Lab” at the LBNL Technology Transfer Web site.
Inventors or other creators of intellectual property must complete the Conflict of Interest TT 100-LBNL Form, available at the LBNL Technology Transfer Web site.
Printed
. The official or current version is located in the online LBNL Requirements and Policies Manual.
Printed or electronically transmitted copies are not official. Users are responsible for working with the latest approved revision.