# Presentation: 700155

## Public/Private Partnerships for Research – An Industry Perspective

**Public/Private Partnerships for Research – An Industry Perspective**

- Michael Idelchik
- Vice President, Advanced Technology Programs
- GE Global Research

## Global Research: Market-focused R&D

**Global Research: Market-focused R&D**

**c. 1900**

**2007**

- First US industrial lab
- Began 1900 in Schenectady, NY
- Founding principle ... improve businesses through technology
- One of the world’s most diversified industrial labs

**Cornerstone of GE’s commitment  to technology**

## Global brains

**Global brains**

**Global Research Center**
**Niskayuna, NY**

**China Technology Center**
**Shanghai, China**

**John F. Welch Technology Center**
**Bangalore, India**

**Global Research – Europe**
**Munich, Germany**

- ~3,000 research employees (~1,000 PhDs)
- 27,000 GE technologists worldwide
- $5.7 billion technology spend

## World-class technical talent

**Physicists**

**Electrical**
**Engs**

**Biologists**

**Mathematicians**

**Material**
**Scientists**

**Computer**
**Scientists**

**Chemists**

**Sustainable Energy**

**Advanced**
**Propulsion**

**Chem/bio**
**Detection**

**Mechanical**
**Engs**

**Molecular**
**Imaging**

**Biomimetics**

**Nanotechnology**

**World-class technical talent**

**Innovation occurs at the intersection of disciplines**

## Role of Global Research

- Delivering core technologies for New Products
- Discovering New Technology-Based opportunities
- Establishing foothold in Emerging Technologies
- Spreading technology across businesses
- Developing World-Class Technical Talent
- Connecting with the World’s Technology

## We can’t invent everything ourselves

**We can’t invent everything ourselves**

- Universities

- Customers

**GE**
**Partners**

- Business

- Governments

## Underleveraged Opportunity 

**Underleveraged Opportunity **

**Despite positives for GE,**
- Tap into faculty and student creativity
- Leverage academic facilities
- Gives GE a good look at prospective hires
**And positives for Universities...**
- Research funding source
- Staff and students working on real world problems, insight into market needs
- Gives students a good look at GE
- Path for technology transfer

**...****<1% of GE R&D at U.S. Universities**

## GE indicative of a trend 

- US industry spent
- $188 billion on R&D in 2004
- Only $2.1 billion to U.S. academia
- While percentage is declining... lowest level since the mid-80s.

- Source: NSF

**0**

**50**

**100**

**150**

**200**

**‘****94**

**‘****96**

**‘****98**

**‘****00**

**‘****02**

**‘****04**

**1.0%**

**1.1%**

**1.2%**

**1.3%**

**1.4%**

**1.5%**

- ($B)

**% Industry Funding of US Academic R&D**

**Industrial**
**R&D Spending**

## IP -- Industry & US Academia at odds

**% Schools**

**IP -- Industry & US Academia at odds**

**0**

**1%**

**3%**

**5%**

**7%**

**9%**

**>10%**

**10%**

**20%**

**30%**

**40%**

**50%**

**60%**

- Most universities struggle to cover licensing expenses
- Negotiation of research agreements have become increasingly difficult
- Industry researchers have no personal financial stake in IP
- Concerns about academic freedom and openness

**AUTM US University Licensing FY05  Survey**

- Total Licensing Income ~$1.6B ...

## Global Options

**Stan Williams, HP Corporation, testimony to Congress, Sept 17, 2002:**
*“**US-based corporations have become so disheartened and disgusted with the situation [i.e., negotiating IP rights with US universities] they are now working with foreign universities, especially the elite institutions in France, Russia and China, which are more than willing to offer extremely favorable intellectual property terms.”*

## U.S. Industry/University research partnerships – negotiating factors

_**Industry**_

_**Universities**_

- Competitive rights,
- Manage filing costs

- Title, industry covers
- filing costs, royalties

- Protect proprietary
- information

- Access to proprietary
- Information, with rights
- to publish

- Year-by-year, in-line
- with business strategy

- Multi-year commitment

- Amend Bayh/Dole, tax-exempt bond regs

** **

- Leverage Bayh/Dole, tax-exempt bond regs

**Intellectual**
**Property (IP)**

**Publishing Rights**

**Funding **

**Government**
**Policies**

**The stakes...**

**Reaching consensus requires more flexibility in U.S. law**

## GE Aviation USA Program 

** **

**A model for Industry/University partnerships**

**Strategic alliance agreement with multiple universities on key research projects... terms **_**balance**_** industry & university needs**

_**Industry**_

_**Universities**_

-  GE gets exclusive right, royalty free license to use IP in fields of use

-  University research roadmap aligned with business strategy

-  Ownership follows inventorship

-  Rolling, multi-year contract with university resource commitment

-  Provide academia with “real world” technology experience

-  Longer-term revenue stream

-  University rights to publish

-  GE review + approval of publications

## What U.S. government can do

** **

- Reform Bayh-Dole Act... flexibility on IP ownership rights
- Reform tax-exempt bonding policies... flexibility on utilization of university resources funded by tax-exempt bonds
- Better balance between Basic and Long-Term, _**Applied**_ research
- Create mechanism to attract and retain foreign intellectual talent in the U.S once they graduate

**Flexibility in the law will assure long-term, U.S. R+D leadership position**

## Slide 14