AST Sublicense Rights FAQ
If any AST Member and a Patent Owner/Licensor are interested in allowing AST to run a sublicense campaign for the licensing of its Members, the Licensor and AST negotiate and come to terms on AST’s Sublicense Rights Agreement (“SRA”). The Licensor then enters into an SRA with AST, giving AST the right to sublicense its Members. If an AST Member is interested in exercising a sublicense, they execute an SRA with AST, pay AST, then AST remits payment to the Licensor.
Please visit https://www.ast.com/sell-to-ast/ for more information on the submission process and to access the Submission Form. Please review frequently asked questions below. If you have any further questions, please contact patent_sales@ast.com
Please click here for downloadable AST SRA template.
You will retain ownership of your patent(s) while receiving license fees from AST. In addition, having well-known companies as a licensee on your patent(s) can significantly increase the value and provide validation to your patent(s).
AST does not charge a fee nor do we retain a commission on any license fees.
Yes. In order for a license agreement to be put into place, the patent assets must be in the name of the Licensor signing the SRA. In the case of a co-owned patent(s), both/all owners must sign the SRA.
The license will be non-exclusive.
AST does not require the Licensor to maintain their patent(s).
AST Members have the option to exercise the license at their discretion, as we cannot guarantee or determine how many Members will exercise. We will not enter into an SRA unless there is at least one AST Member committed to exercising a license.
No. All of our Members will have the opportunity to exercise a license if they choose.
It can be a fixed price (same price for all Members) or tiered according to annual revenue, this is a negotiable term.
Yes, we will consider revisions on the SRA between the Licensor and AST. The SRA between AST and its Members is not open to revision.
The owner of the patent(s) still owns the portfolio and can do what they wish.
AST will provide a written summary of which Member(s) has taken a license to your portfolio; we do not share Member specific SRAs.
During the term that AST has the right to sublicense its Members (usually 60 days), you cannot sell the patent(s) until after the term of the SRA has expired.