Speaking at the Center for American Progress, USPTO Director David Kappos said the United States stands at a critical juncture in its economic evolution and IP “will certainly play a key role” in driving the nation’s economic growth and renewal. Calling IP “the global currency of innovation,” Kappos conceded that countless inventions that might spark new business are sitting in the USPTO backlog. Reducing that backlog is “one of [Commerce] Secretary Locke’s and my highest priorities,” he added, noting that the agency is experimenting with mechanisms to enable applicants to receive accelerated review of certain technologies. “Our recently announced expansion of Project Exchange gives all applicants with multiple filings greater control over the priority in which their applications are examined,” Kappos said.

TTOs at U.S. universities also have a responsibility to “work cooperatively with their funding partners to adopt best practices for capturing IP,” he said. “If universities and their funding partners don’t capture IP, the innovation it protects and jobs it creates become royalty-free donations to our nation’s biggest economic competitors.” Although IP protection remains essential, the purpose of that protection has shifted from controlling the activities of funding partners to preventing “appropriation into the low-cost labor market,” according to Kappos.

“Once IP is protected, the second issue of paramount priority is the transfer of technology from university laboratory to marketplace,” he added. “Universities on the cutting edge of this field realize that the long accepted choice between maximum diffusion of innovation and maximum revenue capture is a false choice. Put simply, universities need not sacrifice their societal obligation to disseminate knowledge in exchange for research funding. When executed well, diffusion-focused technology transfer generates more net aggregate funding, not less.” Although the generation of royalties from university innovation will continue to play a role in the commercialization life cycle, diffusion-based tech transfer supports “the fundamental mission of educating researchers and conducting research to produce breakthroughs that create American jobs and economic opportunity,” Kappos stated.

Source: Dialed-In

Posted June 9th, 2010 under Tech Transfer

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