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US Faculty Patenting: Inside and Outside the University

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Author Info
Jerry Thursby
Anne Fuller
Marie Thursby

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Abstract

This paper examines the empirical anomaly that in a sample of 5811 patents on which US faculty are listed as inventors, 26% of the patents are assigned solely to firms rather than to the faculty member's university as is dictated by US university employment policies or the Bayh Dole Act. In this paper we estimate a series of probability models of assignment as a function of patent characteristics, university policy, and inventor fields in order to examine the extent to which outside assignment is nefarious or comes from legitimate activities, such as consulting. Patents assigned to firms (whether established or start-ups with inventor as principal) are less basic than those assigned to universities suggesting these patents result from faculty consulting. A higher inventor share increases the likelihood of university assignment as compared with assignment to a firm in which the inventor is a principal but it has no effect on consulting with established firms versus assignment to the university. Faculty in the physical sciences and engineering are more likely to assign their patents to established firms than those in biological sciences.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 13256.

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Date of creation: Jul 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13256

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L24 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Contracting Out; Joint Ventures
L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O34 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Intellectual Property Rights
O38 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Government Policy

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Finn Valentin & Rasmus Jensen, 2007. "Effects on academia-industry collaboration of extending university property rights," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 251-276, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Macho-Stadler, Ines & Perez-Castrillo, David & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2007. "Licensing of university inventions: The role of a technology transfer office," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 483-510, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Hall, B. & Jaffe, A. & Trajtenberg, M., 2001. "The NBER Patent Citations Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," Papers 2001-29, Tel Aviv.
    Other versions:
  4. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-70, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Gustavo Crespi & Aldo Geuna & Bart Verspagen, 2007. "University IPRs and Knowledge Transfer. Is the IPR ownership model more efficient?," SPRU Electronic Working Paper Series 154, University of Sussex, SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby, 2006. "Movement of Star Scientists and Engineers and High-Tech Firm Entry," NBER Working Papers 12172, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Mansfield, Edwin, 1995. "Academic Research Underlying Industrial Innovations:," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 77(1), pages 55-65, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Di Gregorio, Dante & Shane, Scott, 2003. "Why do some universities generate more start-ups than others?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 209-227, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Jerry G. Thursby & Marie C. Thursby, 2004. "Are Faculty Critical? Their Role in University-Industry Licensing," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(2), pages 162-178, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Melamed, Ran & Shiff, Gil & Trajtenberg, Manuel, 2006. "The 'Names Game': Harnessing Inventors Patent Data for Economic Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 5833, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Jaffe, Adam B & Trajtenberg, Manuel & Henderson, Rebecca, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(3), pages 577-98, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Thursby, Jerry G & Jensen, Richard & Thursby, Marie C, 2001. " Objectives, Characteristics and Outcomes of University Licensing: A Survey of Major U.S. Universities," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 26(1-2), pages 59-72, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. David B. Audretsch & Taylor Aldridge & Alexander Oettl, 2006. "The Knowledge Filter and Economic Growth: The Role of Scientist Entrepreneurship," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2006-11, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
  14. Geuna, Aldo & Nesta, Lionel J.J., 2006. "University patenting and its effects on academic research: The emerging European evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 790-807, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Saragossi, Sarina & van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, Bruno, 2003. " What Patent Data Reveal about Universities: The Case of Belgium," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 47-51, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Julio Raffo & Stéphane Lhuillery, 2009. "How to play the “Names Game”: Patent retrieval comparing different heuristics," CEMI Working Papers cemi-workingpaper-2009-00, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Collège du Management de la Technologie, Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship Institute, Chaire en Economie et Management de l'Innovation. [Downloadable!]
  2. Philippe Aghion & Mathias Dewatripont & Caroline M. Hoxby & Andreu Mas-Colell & André Sapir, 2009. "The Governance and Performance of Research Universities: Evidence from Europe and the U.S," NBER Working Papers 14851, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Sidonia von Ledebur, 2009. "University-owned Patents in West and East Germany and the Abolition of the Professors' Privilege," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2009-02, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography. [Downloadable!]
  4. Francesco Laforgia & Fabio Montobbio & Luigi Orsenigo, 2007. "IPRs, technological and industrial development and growth: the case of the pharmaceutical industry," CESPRI Working Papers 206, CESPRI, Centre for Research on Innovation and Internationalisation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Oct 2007. [Downloadable!]
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