If you choose to license your technology then the first step is to talk with the Technology Licensing Office at your institution (sometimes these are called Technology Transfer Offices) and to file an invention disclosure form with them. The Association of University Technology Managers website has some resources discussing technology transfer.

With input from a similar document created at the University of Michigan, the MIT TLO created "The Inventor's Guide to Technology Transfer" (PDF) which gives 10 steps to the process. There are many resources both on the web and at your local TLO on the licensing process. Here is a link to the description of a typical technology transfer process.

The TLO officers will usually provide the following functions: evaluation of invention disclosures, management of literature searches, market assessment, decisions on patent filing, managing of outside attorneys on patent prosecution, marketing of the technology to potential licensees, negotiation of license agreements, and monitoring of licensee performance.

Should I conduct a patent search?

No, it is typically best to leave this for the TLO. However, if you feel compelled to do a patent search to see if someone has already patented your invention, the following tools can be useful

• Patent search tool: www.priorsmart.com
• Patent landscape tool powered by IPVision: www.see-the-forest.com