The prevalent state of opinion acknowledges that contributions of universities to technological innovation should be not only spontaneous but also planned. The shift has obscured the need for further understanding of what is behind academic spillovers, and especially of the relation between localised and delocalised spillovers. A case study of one of the most cited university patents show some underlying patterns of spillovers, and of the complexity of achieving local impact. It also supports that complacency on high numbers of patents or disappointment by low volume of licenses do not give an accurate account of university contribution to technological innovation. Knowledge embodied in one single university patent may follow many diffusion channels.