PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New report examines university management of intellectual property

2010-10-05
(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON — The system put in place by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 -- which gives universities significant control over intellectual property associated with the results of federally funded research at their institutions – has been more effective than the pre-1980 system in making research advances available to the public and spurring innovation, says a new report from the National Research Council. Nevertheless, the current system needs improvement, said the committee that wrote the report.

"The public investment in research universities has led to a great deal of new knowledge that can benefit society, and the movement of research results to those who can commercialize them creates jobs and strengthens the economy, contributes to the advance of human health, and adds to the nation's security," said Mark S. Wrighton, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and chancellor and professor of chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. "The movement of intellectual property from universities to new and mature companies is a healthy process, but one that can be improved. Our committee's report provides some recommendations for those involved in this transfer of knowledge."

University leaders should articulate a clear mission for intellectual property management -- one that stresses the responsibility to disseminate technologies for the public good and does not predicate licensing on the goal of raising significant revenue for the university -- and should evaluate their institutions' efforts accordingly, the report says. Universities also should consider additional ways to engage faculty in commercializing their inventions, as successful commercialization often depends on inventor involvement. In addition, because Bayh-Dole did not establish a stable, effective framework for government oversight, such responsibilities should be clearly assigned within the federal bureaucracy, the report says.

Before the Bayh-Dole Act, if government agencies funded university research, the funding agency retained ownership of the knowledge and technologies that resulted and could license them to companies, who in turn could use it to develop new products and services. However, very little federally funded research was actually commercialized, the report notes. The Act's passage brought more uniformity to the way agencies treat inventions and allowed universities to take title in most cases. As a result, patenting and licensing activity from such research has accelerated in the 30 years since the Act's passage.

Although the system created by the Act has remained stable, it has generated debate about whether it might impede other forms of knowledge transfer. Concerns have also arisen that universities might prioritize commercialization at the expense of their traditional mission to pursue fundamental knowledge -- for example, by steering research away from curiosity-driven topics toward applications that could yield financial returns. The only alternative system to attract support is a "free agency" system, which would give individual faculty members either ownership of their inventions or the freedom to market them independently while the university retains ownership.

The report concludes that the Bayh-Dole framework and university practices have not seriously undermined academic norms of uninhibited inquiry and that there is little evidence that intellectual property considerations interfere with other important avenues of transferring research results to commercial use. Nor has a persuasive case been made for shifting to a free agency system.

Nevertheless, proposals to give faculty ownership or the rights to market their inventions reflect a feeling in some quarters that the current system does not sufficiently value faculty initiative. Universities seeking to encourage entrepreneurial initiative should consider creating expedited procedures and more standardized terms for licensing to start-up enterprises in which staff, faculty, or students are involved, the report says. In addition, there should be independent oversight of the relationship between faculty and university technology transfer offices, and faculty who believe their inventions are being ignored or mishandled should have recourse within their institution. Such disputes should be resolved by an advisory committee composed of university faculty, employees, and administrators.

Institutions with sizable research portfolios should also consider creating an additional standing advisory committee to help the technology licensing unit identify opportunities and develop practices consistent with the university's goals. Such committees should include representatives of research parks and business incubators affiliated with the university, relevant business and investment communities, and other stakeholders.

Smaller institutions and those with less research experience who want to strengthen their technology transfer should consider permitting greater outreach by faculty to pursue the entrepreneurial development of their ideas, collaborating with larger institutions in the same region, or outsourcing certain functions or technology fields to private entities with skills and contacts, the report says.

The report adds that, although effective in its primary purpose, the Bayh-Dole Act's authors and implementers failed to establish a stable, effective framework for governmental oversight. Perhaps by executive order, there should be a clear assignment of oversight responsibilities, which include ensuring that all agencies consistently implement federal technology transfer laws and heading an interagency committee on technology transfer, among other responsibilities.

INFORMATION: The study was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Robertson Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, an anonymous foundation, FasterCures Center, Milken Institute, HighQ Foundation, Myelin Repair Foundation, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. A committee roster follows.

Copies of Improving University Management of Intellectual Property in the Public Interest are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed below).

Contacts: Sara Frueh, Media Relations Officer
Christopher White, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu

[ This news release and report are available at http://national-academies.org ]

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Policy and Global Affairs
Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
Committee on Science, Technology and Law

Committee on Improving University Management of Intellectual Property in the Public Interest

Mark S. Wrighton (chair)
Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry
Washington University
St. Louis

Mark C. Fishman1 (vice chair)
President and Chief Executive Officer
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Inc.
Cambridge, Mass.

Craig A. Alexander
Vice President and General Counsel
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Chevy Chase, Md.

Margo A. Bagley
Professor of Law
University of Virginia
Charlottesville

Wendy H. Baldwin
Director
Poverty, Gender, and Youth Program
The Population Council
New York City

Alan B. Bennett
Executive Director
Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture, and
Associate Dean
Department of Vegetable Crops and Weed Science Program
University of California
Davis

Wesley Marc Cohen
Frederick C. Joerg Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Economics
Fuqua School of Business
Duke University
Durham, N.C.

Robert M. Cook-Deegan
Director
Center for Genome Ethics, Law,
and Policy
Institute for Genome Sciences
and Policy
Duke University
Durham, N.C.

Mark S. Kamlet
Provost and Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh

Greg Kisor
Vice President and Portfolio Architect
Intellectual Ventures
Palo Alto, Calif.

David Korn1
Vice Provost for Research
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.

Katharine Ku
Director
Office of Technology Licensing
Stanford University
Palo Alto, Calif.

Edward D. Lazowska2
Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering
University of Washington
Seattle

Marshall C. Phelps Jr.
Corporate Vice President
Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy
Microsoft Corp. (retired)
Redmond, Wash.

Dorothy K. Robinson
Vice President and General Counsel
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.

N. Darius Sankey
Managing Director
Zone Ventures
Los Angeles

Jerry G. Thursby
Professor and Ernest Scheller Jr. Chair
in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and
Commercialization
College of Management
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta

Jennifer L. West
Isabel C. Cameron Professor and Director
Institute of Biosciences and
Bioengineering
Rice University
Houston

STAFF
Anne-Marie Mazza
Study Director

1 Member, Institute of Medicine
2 Member, National Academy of Engineering



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Surprise: Scientists discover that inflammation helps to heal wounds

2010-10-05
A new research study published in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) may change how sports injuries involving muscle tissue are treated, as well as how much patient monitoring is necessary when potent anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed for a long time. That's because the study shows for the first time that inflammation actually helps to heal damaged muscle tissue, turning conventional wisdom on its head that inflammation must be largely controlled to encourage healing. These findings could lead to new therapies for acute muscle injuries caused by trauma, chemicals, ...

Technology transfer and postdoc entrepreneurs

2010-10-05
Post-doctoral researchers see their role as being vital in technology transfer where scientific findings become useful to the local economy, but most have little interest in running their own business once their research fellowship ends. That's the surprising finding of a study published in the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development. Edmund Zolnik, a public policy specialist at the George Mason University, in Arlington, Virginia, has surveyed postdoctoral fellows in the US National Capital Region. He found that most saw technology transfer as an important ...

Mechanism involved in addictions and some forms of obesity discovered in U of A lab

2010-10-05
A researcher from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta has discovered a mechanism underlying some forms of obesity and addictions which could lead to a treatment for both diseases. When a hungry animal finds food in the wild, it is a rewarding stimulus for the animal and is recognized by the brain by the release of the chemical messenger dopamine. Because narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines, and even tasty and highly-caloric foods also cause the release of dopamine and therefore make people feel rewarded, it's clear that dopamine ...

Using cassava to address vitamin A deficiency

Using cassava to address vitamin A deficiency
2010-10-05
The roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta) serve as the primary source of carbohydrates in the diets of people in many arid regions of the world, including more than 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately the roots of commercial cassava cultivars are quite low in micronutrients, and micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in these regions. In addition to programs designed to deliver vitamin supplements, there has been considerable effort aimed at biofortification; that is, increasing the amounts of available micronutrients in staple crops such as cassava. ...

John Theurer Cancer Center to present innovative research at 2 surgical meetings

2010-10-05
HACKENSACK, N.J. (October 4, 2010) — James C. Wittig, M.D. and colleagues will conduct a total of eight research presentations at the upcoming 96th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons and the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Dr. Wittig, an orthopedic oncologist with extensive experience in performing limb-sparing surgeries, is Chief of the Division of Skin and Sarcoma Cancer of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. The presentations will focus on unique surgical techniques ...

First-of-its-kind study finds alarming increase in flow of water into oceans

2010-10-05
Irvine, Calif. — Freshwater is flowing into Earth's oceans in greater amounts every year, a team of researchers has found, thanks to more frequent and extreme storms linked to global warming. All told, 18 percent more water fed into the world's oceans from rivers and melting polar ice sheets in 2006 than in 1994, with an average annual rise of 1.5 percent. "That might not sound like much – 1.5 percent a year – but after a few decades, it's huge," said Jay Famiglietti, UC Irvine Earth system science professor and principal investigator on the study, which will be published ...

Montana State team finds rare oasis of life on floor of Yellowstone Lake

2010-10-05
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State University researchers have discovered a rare oasis of life in the midst of hundreds of geothermal vents at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake. A colony of moss, worms and various forms of shrimp flourishes in an area where the water is inky black, about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and a cauldron of nutrients, gases and poisons, the researchers reported in the September issue of Geobiology. The vent is close to 100 feet below the surface of Yellowstone Lake and a third of a mile offshore in the West Thumb region. The worms and shrimp live among ...

Mayo Clinic takes the lead in clinical research data management

2010-10-05
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic is making it easier for industry sponsors and investigators at sites across the country to collaborate with Mayo on complex and groundbreaking research studies and clinical trials. In a move aimed at optimizing accuracy, speed and efficiency in clinical research, Mayo Clinic has implemented a front-line system of technology for electronic data capture and management, according to Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic associate dean for research informatics. "Mayo's Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS) will eliminate the duplication, delays ...

The sky is falling (less) onto Puget Sound

The sky is falling (less) onto Puget Sound
2010-10-05
SEQUIM, Wash. – Most toxic pollution falling onto Puget Sound's waters has decreased – some by as much as 99 percent – below earlier estimates, according to a region-wide study. Despite the overall decline, the study found that industrial areas like Tacoma still have the Puget's Sound's highest air-deposited contamination levels. The study, by researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Texas A&M University at Galveston, found the amount of trace metals like arsenic, lead and copper falling onto the Tacoma region have decreased significantly ...

Powerful supercomputer peers into the origin of life

2010-10-05
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 4, 2010 -- Supercomputer simulations at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are helping scientists unravel how nucleic acids could have contributed to the origins of life. A research team led by Jeremy Smith, who directs ORNL's Center for Molecular Biophysics and holds a Governor's Chair at University of Tennessee, used molecular dynamics simulation to probe an organic chemical reaction that may have been important in the evolution of ribonucleic acids, or RNA, into early life forms. Certain types of RNA called ribozymes ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

A toolkit for unraveling the links between intimate partner violence, trauma and substance misuse

Can everyday physical activity improve cognitive health in middle age?

Updated guidance reaffirms CPR with breaths essential for cardiac arrest following drowning

Study reveals medical boards rarely discipline physician misinformation

New treatment helps children with rare spinal condition regain ability to walk

'Grow Your Own' teacher prep pipeline at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette funded by US Department of Education

Lab-grown human immune system uncovers weakened response in cancer patients

More than 5 million Americans would be eligible for psychedelic therapy, study finds

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers find community health workers play critical role in coordinating asthma care across home, school and community

Comprehensive Genomic Profiling leads to better patient outcomes, new joint study says  

Animated movie characters with strabismus are more likely to be villains, study finds

How retailers change ordering strategy when a supplier starts its own direct channel

Young coral use metabolic tricks to resist bleaching

Protecting tax whistleblowers pays off

Bioluminescent proteins made from scratch enable non-invasive, multi-functional biological imaging

New study links air pollution with higher rates of head and neck cancer

LSU researchers excavate earliest ancient Maya salt works

Building a diverse wildland fire workforce to meet future challenges

MBARI researchers discover remarkable new swimming sea slug in the deep sea

Decentralized social media ‘increases citizen empowerment’, says Oxford study

Validating an electronic frailty index in a national health system

Combination approach shows promise for treating rare, aggressive cancers

Raise the roof: How to reduce badminton birdie drift

Ouch! Commonalties found in pain vocalizations and interjections across cultures

Income-related disparities in mortality among young adults with type 2 diabetes

Medical board discipline of physicians for spreading medical misinformation

First-ever randomized clinical trial uses telehealth for suicide prevention

DNA packaging directly affects how fast DNA is copied in cells

Scientists develop advanced catalyst for self-driven seawater splitting with enhanced chloride resistance

City of Hope researchers discover why taking a mushroom supplement slows or prevents prostate cancer from getting worse

[Press-News.org] New report examines university management of intellectual property