Option Agreement (OA)

The purpose of an OA is to allow a commercial entity to evaluate SDSU-owned intellectual property for a defined period. The OA could be used by a commercial entity to 'hold' the IP for a defined period of time with payment of a fee while negotiation for a License Agreement is taking place. Option agreements are usually exclusive and provided as an Exclusive Option Agreement (EOA).

Exclusivity allows the commercial entity to evaluate the information and/or IP without influence from competitors, thus providing the entity an advantage in the market. For example, the EOA granted under the SRA would allow a sponsoring entity to exclude competitors from initiating a negotiation with SDSU for a limited period thus providing a significant advantage to the entity sponsoring the SRA.