Like a cable TV news show free-for-all replete with raw emotion and
derisive accusations, the creative class has recently been confronted
with a lively debate between two of its most influential members, the Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation and the Association of University Technology
Managers. They may not be household names, but the disagreement
between the two organizations highlights an important public policy
issue that must be addressed in order to strengthen America's leadership
in innovation, economic growth, and job creation.
Academic researchers should be "unleashed" from the "inefficient, monopolistic" technology transfer offices at their universities, leaders from the Kauffman Foundation suggested in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last November. They then applied the coup de grâce in a January-February 2010 Harvard Business Review piece by calling for "any inventor professor to choose his or her licensing agent—university-affiliated or not—just as anyone in business can now choose his or her own lawyer."
RICH BENDIS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF INNOVATION AMERICA ,HAS THE PRIVILEDGE OF SERVING AS A BOARD MEMBER OF THE SCIENCE CENTER IN PHILADELPHIA, THE OLDEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL URBAN SCIENCE CENTER IN THE UNITED STATES.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Another Way to Improve Tech Transfer - BusinessWeek
Author: Stephen S. Tang
