Workshop on University Intellectual Property Policies

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Proposal Number: SES 00-87769 Principal Investigator: Stephen Markham This Small Grant project proposes to organize a day and a half workshop conference for presentation and discussion of intellectual property issues between universities and industry in the U.S., and their impact on industry funding of directed R&D. With the relative decline of federal funding for basic research, industry funding has become increasingly important, and numerous U.S. government initiatives have encouraged universities and industries to work more closely together for mutual benefit and then enhancement of national industrial innovation. The Bayh-Dole Act (1980) permits nonprofit organizations such as universities to retain title to, and to market the inventions they create using federal research funds, giving rise to increasing university interest in extracting value from such intellectual property. Yet traditional academic values of openness and academic freedom, as well as the potential conflicts of interest among and between industry, researchers and universities, suggest a need to reexamine university intellectual property policies and their impacts. The workshop will include participants from academe, university administration, government, and industry. It will showcase practices that have proven to be efficient and effective, as well as identifying those that have proven problematical. The objectives of the workshop are: 1. To identify the intellectual property issues that are becoming barriers to industry funding of directed R&D at U.S. universities; 2. To understand the implications of these issues for universities, industry, and the national R&D enterprise; and 3. To develop ideas and recommendations to address the issues. To accomplish the objectives, the workshop will convene presenters representing the viewpoints of researchers, universities, industry and national policy. Panel discussions and case studies will foster exchange of ideas and identification of insights. The workshop will take place at North Carolina State University in conjunction with the semi-annual CIMS Corporate sponsors Meeting. (The Center for Innovation Management Studies is an NSF-sponsored institute that sponsors academic research and relationships between industry and researchers, disseminating research results to practitioners and industry as well as via traditional academic publication.)