Can you cross the mouse or rat you purchase from Taconic Biosciences to generate a new genotype, then distribute the progeny? What about deriving cell lines for commercial screening? Or performing fee-for-service contract research?
The answer to these questions, and many like them, is that it depends on the license, which varies by the specific model and the type of entity you work for.
Animal Model Licensing
Variations in Animal Model Usage Licenses
Taconic offers some of the most flexible licensing arrangements in the life sciences industry. Taconic holds CRISPR licenses for the patents from both the Broad Institute and ERS Genomics (UC Berkeley patents) for both mice and rats.
Not all mouse or rat models come with equal usage rights. What researchers can and can't do with mice and rats purchased from Taconic will vary depending on the model. For custom models, usage rights will vary depending on the methods used to generate the mouse or rat.
Taconic's IP and licensing team is here to support scientists and their organizations as they navigate the multitude of licenses available.
Licensing Examples
Here are some examples of usage licenses available with Taconic mice and rats:
- Taconic Transgenic Models are commercial models produced and distributed under rights to patents and intellectual property (IP) that Taconic has licensed from various institutions. These models are offered for sale to researchers with full-use licensing in the form of the Conditions of Use for Taconic Transgenic Models label license (the "Label License") that is found on the licensing tab of each appliable animal model page. This Label License grants users a license under Taconic's in-licensed patent right(s) to use the model in their research, in consideration of the purchasers' acknowledgement of, and in agreement to, the Terms and Conditions for Taconic Models, Products and Services.
- Sponsored Models are models in various stages of development and sponsored by multiple principal investigators or institutions to which other researchers can gain access. The owner or sponsor of a model allows selective distribution of the model, with restrictions, as specified in a customized material transfer agreement, terms of use or label license. The terms are usually specific to the sponsor and different than those that exist for Taconic commercial models. The specific terms can be found on the licensing tab of each applicable animal model page.
- Custom Generated Models are models that Taconic will design and generate for you under licenses granted to Taconic by multiple licensors to technologies used in the generation of your model. Taconic passes to you the rights to use the model generated by these technologies in your research.
- Most Cryopreserved GEMs are sold under terms of sale which grant the user perpetual rights to use.
Rodent Model Users
At Taconic, we respect intellectual property rights and understand the importance of clarity in managing those rights for both inventors and users. Furthermore, every model sold by Taconic comes with use rights so that researchers are free to work on the scientific problems that matter most.
Rodent Model Developers
You can rest assured that your IP will be protected using the most appropriate licensing option for your situation. In consultation with you, Taconic will determine the best channel for sharing or distributing your model.
Taconic's decades of experience commercializing models provides Taconic's team with a great depth of knowledge of the possible options and implications of different scenarios.
What our customers say:
“We are very pleased to add Taconic to our list of licensees as it furthers our goal of making this technology more broadly accessible and Taconic is certainly a globally recognized leader in the animal model field.”
— Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS Genomics
IP Rights & Licenses
Taconic generates and distributes genetically engineered mouse and rat models for its clients using both proprietary technologies and technology licenses granted by the multiple Licensors. The custom model generated by Taconic belongs to you, the client, and Taconic does not retain follow on rights to its use. You can freely publish the results obtained with your model. Taconic has a license under all CRISPR patents granted worldwide owned by each of ERS and Broad.
Licensor | Technology Description |
The Broad Institute, Inc. | Gene Editing in mice and rats using CRISPR/Cas9 |
ERS Genomics Ltd | Gene Editing in mice and rats using CRISPR/Cas9 (UC Berkeley patents) |
Evrogen IP JSC | Genetically engineered mice and rats expressing mKate2 fluorescent protein |
Promega Corporation | Genetically engineered mice and rats expression luciferase fluorescent protein |
TET Systems GmbH & Co. KG | Tetracycline regulated gene expression in eukaryotes |
University of Nebraska Medical Center | DNA Editing Using Relatively Long Single-Stranded DNA and CRISPR/Cas9 to Increase Success Rate in Methods for Preparing Transgenic Embryos and Animals (Easi-CRISPR) |