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Sandia Stimulates COVID-19 Market Recovery

Businesses can apply for free licenses as part of its technology transfer program.

Sandia National Laboratories scientists developed a pocket-sized anthrax detector that it later licensed to a New Mexico company. The Rapid Technology Deployment Program is offering the business sector free access to more than 1,000 technologies and software programs to help jumpstart the economy, which COVID-19 is adversely affecting. Photo by Randy Montoya

Sandia National Laboratories has a fast-track licensing program to rapidly deploy technology to the commercial sector. The move is designed to support businesses facing widespread often-technical challenges resulting from the COVID-19 effects on companies. Under the program, more than 1,000 Sandia-patented technologies are temporarily eligible for any U.S. person to use commercially for free; licenses are valid through December 31.

“In light of the national emergency, we’re making technology transfer as simple as possible,” Mary Monson, senior manager, technology partnerships and business development, Sandia, says. “The Rapid Technology Deployment Program is an effort to streamline deployment of potential solutions to our partners in industry.”

The new program eliminates financial or contractual barriers to mobilizing technologies; expedites transfer of intellectual property by eliminating fee negotiations, transferring intellectual property in days instead of months; and enables licensees to invest their full resources into combating the pandemic and its economic effects. The fast-track licenses are nonexclusive; more than one individual can hold a license to use the same technology.

“This isn’t just a public health crisis; it’s also an economic crisis,” Susan Seestrom, chief research officer, Sandia, states. “Companies need new ways of doing business. They need cybersecurity tools so they can operate remotely. They need advanced manufacturing techniques to produce goods that are in high demand. If Sandia intellectual property can help, we want to lower barriers to people getting it.”

To obtain a license, interested individuals must be a current U.S. resident; licenses are not available for export and businesses must legally be able to contract with the U.S. government. They also must state an intended business purpose in the application, which must be submitted online.

The website features information about patents available to license and patents formerly held by Sandia that now are in the public domain and do not require a license to use.

As a multipurpose engineering laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, Sandia invents technologies for research purposes and maintains patents under nine categories. It routinely grants licenses to businesses, universities and individual entrepreneurs to use these technologies for other commercial purposes.