Applying Action Research to Academic Patent-Licensing Path

In this chapter, an action research program and two projects that followed the patent-licensing path are presented. The program had the objective of increasing patent-licensing outputs and researching the processes and factors that influence the possibility of success of these activities. The active research methodology proved to be a valuable approach for simultaneously solving both the research goals and the problem-solving goals. The first project presented is related to the development of a new product to human diagnostics. The second one refers to new technology development, with a potential application in electronics. Both projects are the objective of extensive collaboration, particularly in the early research stages, for posteriorly going through the R&D and the patent-licensing activities. The projects also follow an iterative, stage-gated process and were influenced by internal and external factors. The most relevant findings reveal that the experience presented could be useful for developing patent-licensing projects in different contexts and under restrictive conditions.