Most US universities maintain three core businesses that earn most of their revenue:
1. Selling diplomas
2. Competing for federal and industry research sponsorships
3. Trying to crack open the checkbooks of wealthy alumni
Since the 1980s, universities have ventured into a new line of business: patenting inventions from university research labs and brokering these patents to businesses and start-ups. Thirty years later, university patent holdings have swelled into the tens of thousands and larger research universities spend millions of dollars each year on filing for new patents. Yet, on average, over three-quarters of university patents are never licensed to companies for commercial use. Since US universities own 5% of our nation’s patents, and a growing number of patents in cutting-edge fields such as nanotechnology and biotech, even on human genes, people get worried that needlessly “locking up” basic university research will stifle innovation and create a patent anti-commons.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Blogging Innovation » Accumulating Patents at Universities
Author: Melba Kurman
