Licensing for all patented technologies of all of the various Institutes and Centers of the NIH is handled by a staff of Licensing Specialist in the Office of Technology Transfer in the Office of the Director of NIH

Why does the NIH license its patents?
The PHS licenses its patents and patent applications to private sector organizations in order to allow the public to benefit from the research in the form of a commercial product. In order to give commercial entities the incentive to spend money and time, the companies require the rights and protection that a patent gives in the competitive marketplace. The PHS attempts to license technologies to as many commercial organizations as possible in order to ensure that each technology is being fully developed for the benefit of public health. However, there are certain circumstances in which granting an exclusive license to a single organization is beneficial for the development and commercialization of a technology. For example, due to the high risks and costs associated with technologies involving new drugs and vaccines, the PHS will generally grant exclusive licenses to organizations as incentives to research and develop these types of technologies.

Licensing CRADA inventions.
A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) is a collaborative agreement between a PHS laboratory and a non Federal organization in which both parties contribute intellectual resources toward the goal of jointly developing a new technology. As a result of the partnership, the CRADA partner has the first option to choose an exclusive or nonexclusive license for any technologies developed under the CRADA.

Please Note: If your invention is a result of a CRADA partnership, please include that information in your EIR form since special procedures apply to licensing CRADA inventions