How Successful Was the Philippine Technology Transfer Act in Commercializing Publicly Funded R&D? The Case of Agrifood System Innovations

The Constitution prioritizes innovation and the protection of inventors' rights, while also promoting the widespread use of science and technology. The Intellectual Property Code of 1998 addresses the former, while the Technology Transfer Act of 2010 aims for the latter. This study represents the first comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the government's technology transfer program for agrifood products. Despite considerable data constraints, the study compiled a profile of publicly funded R&D products, their associated RDIs, and technology transferees. Among its key findings are: RDIs are mostly SUCs; earnings from technology transfer have been minuscule; most transferred technologies are food products; RDIs encounter difficulties in securing IPRs, completing product development, and obtaining a fairness opinion report; most transferees are small enterprises; payment-free transfers are most common; investments made by transferees are modest, financed mostly by owner's capital and bank loans rather than government support; the market is usually regional or even nationwide, but sales, expenses, and net income are quite modest, with a wide variation in the return on investment. Qualitative findings include: low commercial potential of R&D products; fragmented information systems; high business costs; and limited institutional capacity of RDIs. The study concludes with policy implications for allocating resources to public agricultural R&D, as well as for reforms to laws and policies governing technology transfer and commercialization. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph.