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Academic Licensing

OpenEye seeks to foster and support bona fide academic research. We endeavor to support academics as much as possible without compromising our own interests. To this end, OpenEye provides a number of licensing options for the academic community. Each option includes access to OpenEye's core applications and toolkits in a convenient single offering.

In order to be eligible for any of the academic licensing options listed below, you must be employed by and actively participating in research (or teaching) at an accredited degree-granting college or university and your primary intent is to use the licenses as part of your research (or teaching). These licenses are not for use in a direct revenue generating capacity, such as acting as a service provider or CRO for the pharmaceutical industry.

Academic License Types*

The Academic Package

The Academic Package is a paid annual subscription intended for small academic research groups (fewer than 10 members) that are primarily engaged in non-commercial research activities but are also interested in obtaining support and retaining intellectual property rights to any data generated with the tools. Larger academic groups or groups with an obvious commercial focus are not eligible for this licensing option, but may be eligible for Core Lab or Commercial Packages. If you are interested in a paid academic license that includes support please fill out our commercial inquiry form.


Free Public Domain Research License

The Public Domain Research License is a no cost, no support, no intellectual property license intended for pure non-commercial research in which the results of the research will be promptly released into the public domain. Research groups that wish to access support or retain intellectual property rights to their discoveries should pursue the Academic Package option above.

Eligibility for this license may differ among distinct research groups within a single institution. As such, we consider each group on their own basis. If approved, use is only allowed within the research group of a specific principal investigator. Eligibility is not permanent and will be reevaluated annually. In cases where research is not released into the public domain and is instead patented or commercialized, retroactive commercial licenses will need to be obtained for each year the free license was in place. To apply for this license, please review the license agreement and submit your application below.


Free Teaching License

The Teaching License is a no cost, no support, no intellectual property license intended for use by educators and their students solely in the context of a specific time-limited course. To apply for this license, please review the license agreement and submit your application below.

*Not all of these academic licensing options are available in all countries, so please check with your local representative.

Academic License Agreement Preface

OpenEye's Free Academic Licenses are for you if you work at an accredited degree-granting college or university and your intent is to use the licenses for teaching purposes or to:

  • Run a program
  • Analyze results
  • Publish results
  • Move on to the next project

If you are interested in using the software for any other purposes, you will need to disclose and describe those in your license application.

The following is a list of example uses requiring disclosure that may or may not be permitted at our discretion depending on the circumstance:

  • Develop software methods or algorithms that are substantially similar to an OpenEye product
  • Obtain the software solely for the purpose of publishing a software comparison study
  • Make money from the use of the software (either IP generation or software services)
  • Offer publicly available databases created from the use of OpenEye software
  • Use the software as part of a website

Again, if your intended use falls into one of the above or similar categories, it does not mean that you cannot have licenses. It just means that a more in-depth discussion about your purposes will be required as part of the application process. We will attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests. Failure to disclose potentially unacceptable uses of the software or other conflicts of interest as outlined above may result in software licenses being revoked or not renewed.

Click here to apply for an Academic License:

Academic License Application
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