Bayh-Dole at 30: Failing to Live Up to the Positive Rhetoric

December 12, 2010 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Bayh-Dole Act.  Although the Act is the subject of soaring positive rhetoric (i.e., "This legislation changed fundamentally the way America develops technologies from federally funded university research and effectively secured the country's leadership position in innovation."), an in depth look at the effects of Bayh-Dole over the past thirty years illustrates some of the pitfalls of these claims.  

The Bayh-Dole Act did less for innovation than many of its proponents claim.  Furthermore, while many evaluate the Act's success based on the volume of patents and licensing, these metrics do not adequately measure innovation.  Patents can hinder further research and development and the Bayh-Dole model is increasingly out of date, ignoring new alternatives that can promote innovation while simultaneously promoting the public interest.   

UAEM's analysis of the claims regarding the Bayh-Dole Act is available here.