LES Deals of Distinction Award

The LES Deals of Distinction Award (DDA) is an annual industry sector award program of LES (U.S.A. & Canada), which aspires to recognize worthy licensing deals and promote creative and innovative solutions to business issues involving contracts.

Each of the LES (U.S.A. & Canada) Industry Sector Committees has the option to make an award to whom they feel has completed the most deserving deal from within their field.

2025 Deals of Distinction Award Winners

Brands As A Business Sector:

• Franklin Sports, Inc.
• Women's National Basketball Association
  

High Technology Sector:

• SIM IP
• Ultraleap

Industry-University-Government Interface Sector:

• National Institutes of Health
• Bavarian Nordic
  

Life Sciences Sector:

• GSK plc
• Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd

Physical Sciences Sector:

• Saudi Aramco
• AIR6 SYSTEMS
• King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Nominate a Deal

Of the deals announced in your industry over the past year, can you think of a worthy candidate?

Consider the criteria below and submit your information:

1. The Award may be granted to a representative from each party of the selected deal wherein the transaction was announced in the past year and had a significant licensing component.
2. Wherein further at least one party to the selected deal is an organization based in the territories of LES (U.S. or Canada).
3. All types of licensing and technology transfer subject matter will be considered, and the selection criteria will include:
1. Creative solution to the business issues,
2. Novel structure for terms, and/or
3. A deal that is seen as a "seismic event" and signals a major change for the art of licensing in your Industry Sector

Submissions are due by August 7, 2026. 
Click here to nominate a deal today!

Past Award Winners