When the backers of California’s stem cell initiative were seeking voter support last year, they not only promised cures for dread diseases, but also licensing revenue for the state. A statement posted on the initiative proponents’ CuresforCalifornia.com Web site says that ‘California will benefit for decades from patents and royalties that result from the research.’ But most biotech IP lawyers say it is foolhardy and wildly optimistic to predict that royalty revenue will come to California in the uncertain area of stem cell-derived therapies.