Patent Licence or Assignment: That is the Question
"Licensing [a Patent] is not necessarily always the best or most advantageous commercialisation pathway. Sometimes, assignment might be. Similarly, assignment is not necessarily always the best or most advantageous commercialisation pathway. Sometimes, licensing instead might be.
On each occasion an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of assignment versus licensing needs to be made. Neither is necessarily the better course to take to the exclusion of the other. The benefits of royalties, as against the benefits of receiving a once only lump sum need to be assessed, with all other implications, to reach a conclusion whether on a particular occasion, a license, or an assignment is to be the preferred course."
Read more in this article from WIPO.
