Patenting and Licensing University Inventions: Lessons from the History of the Research Corporation

Abstract

Recent developments in the relationships between R&D in US industry and research in US universities, especially in the growth of university patenting and licensing of technologies to private firms, have attracted considerable attention. This paper discusses the history of an important institution in the history of these relationships, the Research Corporation. The ultimate withdrawal of the Research Corporation from its major role reflected shifting federal policies towards philanthropic organizations as well as the Bayh–Dole Act. The evidence provided in this paper, however, suggests that the seeds of decline had been planted well before 1980 and were apparent in the growing deficits of the Research Corporation during the 1970s. Since some of these factors are also apparent within many US university licensing offices it is likely that some ‘shake‐out’ will occur in the future as a number of these universities reduce or terminate their activities in this area. Those that survive are likely to pursue a broader set of goals than royalty income alone.

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