Stanford University
Katharine Ku is Director of the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) at Stanford University. OTL is responsible for the licensing of various state-of-the-art university technologies and industry sponsored research agreements and collaborations. In fiscal year 2003-2004, OTL received $49.5 Million from the licensing of over 435 different technologies.
From 1994-98, in addition to her OTL responsibilities, Ku was responsible for Stanford's Sponsored Projects Office, which handled $500M in research contracts and grants. Ku was Vice President, Business Development at Protein Design Labs, Inc. in Mountain View, California from 1990-1991. Prior to PDL, Ku spent 12 years at Stanford in various positions, was a researcher at Monsanto and Sigma Chemical, administered a dialysis clinical trial at University of California and taught chemistry and basic engineering courses.
Ku has been active in the Licensing Executive Society (LES), serving as Vice President, Western Region and Trustee of LES and various committee chairs. She also has served as President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) from 1988-90. She received the AUTM 2001 Bayh-Dole Award for her efforts in university licensing.
Ku has a B.S. Chemical Engineering (Cornell University), an M.S. in Chem. Eng. (Washington University) and is a registered patent agent.
Related Links: otl.stanford.edu/about/staff/ku.html
Last Updated: Tue, Apr 18, 2006
| Category | Title | Author/Speaker | Organization | Length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video | What's Best for the Technology? | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 01:56 | 03/2005 |
| Video | Maintaining Good Relationships | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 02:34 | 03/2005 |
| Video | The Licensing Process | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 01:39 | 03/2005 |
| Video | The Big Ones | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 03:44 | 03/2005 |
| Video | The Sobering Truth About Technology Licensing | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 02:09 | 03/2005 |
| Video | Royalties and Patents | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 01:02 | 03/2005 |
| Video | Entrepreneurs in a University | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 02:21 | 03/2005 |
| Video | A Career in Technology Licensing | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 02:28 | 03/2005 |
| Video | Licensing Success Rate | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 03:37 | 03/2005 |
| Video | Cross-licensing and International Patents | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 01:54 | 03/2005 |
| Video | The Bayh-Dole Act | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 04:07 | 03/2005 |
| Video | How Much is the Technology Worth? | Katharine Ku | Stanford | 02:32 | 03/2005 |
Katherine Ku, Director of the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) at Stanford University, talks about the mission of the OTL at Stanford. Their main philosophy is to do what's best for the technology, and that doesn't always mean going for the top dollar.
Ku believes technology licensing is not always about licensing products and making money. It's also about fostering lasting relationships with companies and individuals. She talks about some of the interactions and relationships that Stanford University has with outside groups.
Ku describes the process of licensing a technology from start to finish.
Ku talks about some of the big licenses to come out of Stanford University since the beginning of the Office of Technology Licensing.
Most people might assume that Stanford University generates a large number of high profit licenses. Ku explains what the financial numbers really look like on average.
Ku talks about what the Office of Technology Licensing is really looking for in terms of what will be a successful patent.
More and more universities are starting to see faculty and students create start ups. However, sometimes a conflict of interest can arise. Ku discusses how her office handles these entrepreneurs and conflicts.
Ku talks about how the main appeal of a career in technology licensing is that it is never the same position from one day to the next. There is the opportunity to meet new people, create an astounding network, and to always know what is on the cutting edge of research and technology.
Simply having a new technology is not enough to gain a license. Ku talks about how the Office of Technology Licensing at Stanford asseses each technology, and what recommendations they might make to the entrepreneur.
Ku discusses the expense of international patents and how they tend to approach international markets.
Ku explains the impact of the Bayh-Dole Act on international and domestic technology licensing.
As Ku says, pricing a technology is an art, not a science. She describes the process of determining the equity volume of the various technologies that her office sees.