UC Los Angeles

Campus Notes:

  Over 80% of the UCLA invention portfolio is managed by UCLA’s Business Research Partnerships (BRP) Office. Most of the 89 UCLA inventions remaining in OTT’s portfolio were disclosed prior to the establishment of an independent UCLA licensing office. OTT continues to receive some new disclosures when multiple UC campuses are involved or the technology is closely related to one already administered by OTT.

  Nearly 97% of income in FY96 for OTT-managed cases was generated by two inventions, both among UC “Top 25” earning inventions (see p.13). Income on the Nicotine Patch decreased by $1.15 million from FY95 to FY96, largely because FY95 income included a one-time $1.5 million settlement for past-due Canadian royalties. However, this decrease was offset by a $955,000 increase in income on the Treatment for Intercranial Aneurysms, which received FDA approval in the past year and is now commercially available.

  For both OTT and BRP-managed cases, the overall level of first patent filings remained stable and secondary filings decreased. It should be noted that the large number of secondary filings in FY95 reflected patent law changes related to GATT. Licensing activity remained stable for OTT-managed cases but increased substantially for BRP.

  For OTT-managed cases the growth of net legal expenses was due primarily to a lag in the receipt of reimbursements from licensees. FY96 legal expenses also included $111,000 in interference expenses that were incurred for an ongoing action related to the Tomographic X-Ray Knife. This interference action has now been resolved in the University’s favor.

  BRP’s net legal expenses increased because the campus filed patent applications on a number of promising inventions that are not yet licensed. If licensees are identified, patent costs may be recovered at a later time.

  In FY96 adjusted gross income dropped 7% for the BRP-managed portfolio, which consists largely of younger inventions still in the developmental stage. Most income continues to come from one-time or periodic fees rather than ongoing streams of royalties. Income may therefore fluctuate substantially from year to year.

  Inventor shares, State share, and net income on the UCLA portfolio continue to fluctuate dramatically from year to year due to wide variations in income received for the Nicotine Patch and the earlier-stage inventions managed by BRP.

  A combination of all the above factors resulted in a 31% ($383,000) decrease in net income from FY95 to FY96 for the OTT-managed portfolio and an 11% ($98,000) reduction in net loss for the BRP-managed cases.

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY