Yet sometimes technology transfer from the university to the private sector can be difficult, time-consuming and unsuccessful. One successful model for technology transfers is the University of Pennsylvania, which aggressively supports startups around technologies spun off from Penn research. On Thursday, April 26, the Venable law firm is taking the lead in sponsoring a forum highlighting the lessons Penn's experience offers for other universities. The event is the brainchild of Penn Alumna and Venable attorney Christine A. Ross , who will discuss the event and share her insight on this issue. The edited transcript follows.
Technology transfer is incredibly important to the nation's economy.
What sparked the increase in technology transfer to the private sector was the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which granted universities the right to own the results of research funded by the federal government in exchange for their commitment to protect and commercialize them for the public good. Since that time, the number of universities participating in tech transfer increased eightfold. It adds close to 25 billion to the US economy and supports numerous jobs per year. Prior to Bayh-Dole, universities could not own the rights to federally funded inventions unless they sucessfully petitioned the government. I myself have a huge stake at this point because I arranged for the Center for Technology Transfer from the University of Pennyslvania to come down and present to the technology community, and am now in discussions with several other major research universities who are interested in the forum I developed.