Licensing is the third and final stage of the technology transfer process. In this phase companies or organizations are given a license to use new technology to develop products and services that are sold to benefit the public.

The revenues generated from the licensing processing then become funding for new research and development.

Three elements are key to successfully taking a research discovery to practical application:

• A process to transfer an innovation or new technology from the laboratory to the market place
• A strategy for marketing the innovation or new technology
• A process for evaluating what the innovation or new technology is worth in the marketplace