The Bayh-Dole Act, enacted in 1980 and subsequently amended, established a uniform federal policy allowing universities and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions developed through federally funded research, thereby facilitating technology transfer to the private sector and fostering public benefit. This legal framework, implemented through detailed regulations and compliance requirements, has markedly increased university patenting and licensing activities, spurred the creation of thousands of new companies and products, and contributed significantly to U.S. economic growth and technological innovation. As a result, the Act is widely regarded as a model of successful collaboration among government, academia, and industry, leading to substantial advancements in research commercialization and public access to new technologies.
Originally published in 1999, and updated October 2021:
Contributors:
COGR would like to thank the Research Security & Intellectual Property Management Committee (RSIP), and in particular, Michael Moore from Augusta University, for contributing to the update of this paper, originally published in October 1999 by the then-titled Technology Transfer and Research Ethics Committee (TTRE).
