What an interesting idea - putting a price on intellectual property up
front. Occasionally, companies actually also request ownership of the
property in return for research support. We would respond negatively
to both suggestions, because the Tax Reform Act of l986 is pretty
clear about not negotiating the price of an intellectual property until
there is one and its worth can be estimated. Even  in the  absence of
the Act, how can a value be asigned to an unknown entity?
Ilze Krisst, PhD, University of Connecticut, Research Foundation.