Today, universities and researchers recognize that patents can be a big source of revenue. Companies are willing to buy the right to use the technology researchers develop, and the university and its inventors stand to gain royalties if those inventions help the company turn a profit. This promise of profits, along with passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities title to inventions funded with federal dollars, prompted the UO in 1992 to open its Technology Transfer Office. The office is responsible for finding a market for the inventions of UO faculty and students. Income from licensing agreements is divided between the inventor, the department, and the university.
Industry has certain objectives for their company.
Though modest, income from the licensing of patents Keana holds has helped fund further research in his lab and the chemistry department. While Keana and others file many patent applications for technology that may never get licensed nor make money, one successful patent can mean millions of dollars for the university. Meanwhile, Keana is busy thinking up more inventions.