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The Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer (JHTT) emerged from modest origins in the 1960s. At that time, Hopkins had a Patent Management Office, consisting of one licensed patent agent whose primary role was to manage the University’s intellectual property through the filing and prosecution of patent applications. The University did not actively pursue commercialization of its research at that time.

In 1980, the U.S. Congress passed the Bayh-Dole Act, which transferred the control of many government-funded research inventions to universities for the purpose of further development and commercialization. This legislation paved the way for a new era of technology transfer opportunities, and each major division of the University began devoting resources to this activity. To streamline these efforts, the Sponsored Projects Office, by virtue of its central administration mission, stepped up to handle the growing complexity of collaborative corporate relationships and the resulting technology transfer.

The JHTT, as we know it today, was created in July 2001 through the consolidation of the Office of Technology Transfer, Homewood Campus, and the office of Licensing and Business Development (previously known as the Office of Technology Licensing), School of Medicine.