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University invention and the abolishment of the professor’s privilege in Finland

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  • Ejermo, Olof

    (Department of Economic History, Lund University)

  • Toivanen, Hannes

    (Teqmine)

Abstract

In 2007 Finland changed ownership rights to inventions from its employees – "the professor’s privilege" – to universities. We investigate how this change affected academic patenting using new data on inventors and patenting in Finland for the period 1995- 2010. Matched sample panel data regressions using difference-in-differences show that patenting by individuals dropped by at least 29 percent after 2007. Unlike other countries studied, in Finland the reform was known before implementation. Adding the period after announcement to the reform period increases the drop in academic patenting to 46 percent. Our and others’ results call into question whether the European reform of the professor’s privilege were good innovation policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ejermo, Olof & Toivanen, Hannes, 2018. "University invention and the abolishment of the professor’s privilege in Finland," Papers in Innovation Studies 2018/6, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2018_006
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    Cited by:

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    4. van Burg, Elco & Du, Jingshu & Kers, Jannigje Gerdien, 2021. "When do academics patent outside their university? An in-depth case study," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Yang, Zhenbing & Chen, Zhuo & Shao, Shuai & Yang, Lili, 2022. "Can housing price regulation improve R&D performance in universities? Evidence from China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    6. Lei Ye & Gang Zeng & Xianzhong Cao, 2020. "Open innovation and innovative performance of universities: Evidence from China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 1142-1157, September.
    7. Nicolas Carayol & Elodie Carpentier, 2022. "The spread of academic invention: a nationwide case study on French data (1995–2012)," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 1395-1421, October.
    8. Nicolas Carayol & Valerio Sterzi, 2021. "The transfer and value of academic inventions when the TTO is one option," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 338-367, May.
    9. Kwadwo Atta-Owusu & Rune Dahl Fitjar, 2022. "What motivates academics for external engagement? Exploring the effects of motivational drivers and organizational fairness [The Nature of Academic Entrepreneurship in the UK: Widening the Focus on," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(2), pages 201-218.
    10. Shuo Xu & Ling Li & Xin An, 2023. "Do academic inventors have diverse interests?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(2), pages 1023-1053, February.
    11. Yang, Zhenbing & Chen, Zhuo & Shao, Shuai & Yang, Lili, 2022. "Unintended consequences of additional support on the publications of universities: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    academic patenting; Finland; professor’s privilege; university ownership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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