Taxpayers are Already Getting a Good Bang for Their University Research Buck

"These proposals, if implemented, would significantly deter collaborations between researchers across government, academia, and the private sector, resulting in less innovation. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently proposed changing how the federal government funds scientific research at universities across the country. "I think if we fund it and [the universities] invent a patent, the United States of America taxpayer should get half" of the royalties when universities license those patents to private companies for further development, he suggested."

"Lutnick rightly wants to ensure that taxpayers get a good bang for their research buck. But the truth is, taxpayers already get a great return on the university research they fund. Universities frequently patent promising ideas-but it is only through significant and often long-term investments from the private sector that these good ideas are commercialized into life-changing products that lead to significant public health and socioeconomic benefits."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick proposed that the United States taxpayer should receive half of royalties when universities license patents developed with federal funding. Taxpayer returns from university research are already substantial, driven largely by private-sector investment that commercializes university patents into products with public health and socioeconomic benefits. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities to patent and license discoveries from federally funded research, increasing commercialization compared with prior government-held licensing. Imposing a large share claim on university licensing revenue would act like a tax, potentially discouraging university–industry collaborations, reducing startup formation, job creation, product commercialization, and economic growth.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law