Tweaking Technology Transfer

The system by which American universities make the fruits of federally funded research available to the public is fundamentally working -- but it could use some fixing up, the National Research Council said in a report released Monday.

The report, "Managing University Intellectual Property in the Public Interest," resulted from a two-year review by a panel of university leaders, researchers, corporate representatives, and others convened by the NRC. It comes amid significant debate and discussion (among members of Congress, the Obama administration, experts on enterpreneurship and others) about the effectiveness of university technology transfer and the 1980 federal law designed to facilitate it, known as the Bayh-Dole Act after its Congressional sponsors.