How does patent mixed ownership impact university technology commercialization? Evidence from China

University patent ownership has garnered significant attention, particularly following the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act in the U.S. and the abolition of professor's privilege in Europe. Despite advancements in knowledge production, the impact of different ownership structures on university innovation—particularly technology commercialization (TC)—remains a topic of ongoing debate requiring further inquiry. In China, the introduction of a mixed ownership (MO) policy has altered the traditional institutional ownership structure by allocating partial patent ownership to university inventors. Within this context, this paper examines the fundamental question: How does the emerging MO policy influence TC and is this ownership structure more effective in promoting university TC? Focusing on universities that participated in the central government's MO pilot program between 2017 and 2022, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to assess its impact. The findings reveal that: (i) the MO policy catalyzes a shift toward an inventor-led commercialization path, empowering researchers to directly engage with market opportunities, while leaving the institution-led path largely unaffected. (ii) internal commercialization support is essential in enhancing the policy's effectiveness. (iii) MO preserves the integrity of academic research, countering concerns that commercialization efforts may compromise scholarly activities. Furthermore, the analysis reveals differentiated effects of the policy across various university characteristics. These findings could shed light on the theoretical relationship between patent ownership and university innovation, contributing to the understanding of MO and its impact on TC, IP management and innovation ecosystem in a general perspective.