Background

It is no accident that Silicon Valley is known throughout the world as a fountain of creative, cutting edge commercial activity. The reason Silicon Valley has been so exceptionally successful is due in no small part to an enabling environment that positively approaches the transfer of technology from government-funded research universities to private companies. While “technology transfer” can occur between many different types of entities (i.e. university-to-university; corporation-to-corporation; intra-corporation), it is the technology transfer partnerships between public and private entities have played the most significant role in the rise of Silicon Valley’s technological prominence.

The technology transfer process yields significant benefits for both the universities and the private businesses that participate. Few firms and industries have the infrastructure and funding to conduct all the research they require, especially small and medium sized businesses. The technology transfer process allows these businesses to supplement their research efforts, and use the products of university research as a foundation to develop new commercially viable products and services. For universities, the technology transfer process provides benefits in the form of licensing revenue that businesses pay to use their innovations. While this technology transfer process seems fairly commonsensical, it actually took a proactive government to bring about.

In the United States, several laws – most notably the Bayh-Dole Act enacted in 1980 – provide the legislative framework for facilitating the transfer of technology from research-driven institutions to market-driven businesses. Prior to the Bayh-Dole Act, the government had restrictive policies that left publicly funded research institutions with no rights over their research products and thus unable to form licensing agreements with businesses. Today however, under the Bayh-Dole framework, the public-private model of technology transfer has flourished.

With the advent of Bayh-Dole and subsequent refinements, the licensing mechanisms of technology transfer have spawned tremendous advances in medical, engineering, chemical, computing and software industries, as well as virtually creating the biotechnology industry. The economic benefit of this system is estimated to be several billion dollars in sales alone, as well as the impact of investment in new start-up companies and the funds invested in businesses to support the increased sales. But even more importantly, the consumer products, medical treatments, drugs and materials that have driven this economic benefit have dramatically improved our lives.

The Conference

The Institute believes that the American model of technology transfer can be applied to other countries. Indeed, there are examples of robust commercial growth from “research triangles” around the world. In April 2001 the Institute hosted an International Conference on Technology Transfer for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The three-day event facilitated an in-depth examination of how technology transfer can assist developing countries in facilitating economic growth.

Sponsored in part by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN-agency that addresses intellectual property matters, the conference dealt with issues surrounding the transference of public sector-sponsored research into viable commercial products. The conference focused on technology transfer as a tool for economic growth in developing countries. Speakers included representatives from leading academic institutions, federally funded laboratories, multilateral development agencies, think tanks, associations and the private sector.