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Commercialization of academic research (Patent, publish and flourish)
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COMMERCIALIZATION OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH (PATENT, PUBLISH AND FLOURISH) Caroline D. Bruce, PhD Manager, Biomedical Technology Transfer, University Industry Liaison Office, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z3 Why have universities and their researchers become more interested in the commercialization of academic research? How does filing a patent application fit with the basic concept of academic freedom to publish? The University mission is to provide a source of education and research to the public. Universities are viewed as institutions based on the free exchange of ideas and an impartial source of information. In the past the university environment allowed researchers to pursue their research with open-ended and open-minded goals to interact with colleagues and to freely publish results. However, this "ideal" has become severely challenged as both grant funding to the individual researcher and government funding to the university has been reduced over the last decade. There is increasing pressure on academics to "publish or perish" in order to compete for tenure and promotion and on universities to find new sources of revenue for their researchers as well as for the institutions themselves. Governments are increasingly aware of universities as a source of technology for commercialization, and also see the importance of industrial collaboration to foster employment opportunities for new graduates. Industry's focus is on meeting customer needs and maximizing profits to stockholders. Due to different pressures and financial competition, industrial research and development has a "publish and perish" attitude that is driven by profit objectives, which tends to limit publication to protect competitive positions. Industry needs to find ways of maximizing research and development dollars especially with corporate down-sizing for example, and many companies now view universities as an important source of new technologies which will help them get "the competitive edge" in today's marketplace. How can universities maintain an academic environment, while encouraging and fostering commercialization of technologies and opportunities for working with industry? In what ways can a university encourage an academic researcher to patent as well as publish? How do you insure that funding basic research with industry dollars will allow academic freedom and scientific integrity to flourish? A University Industry Liaison Office provides the institutional interface between the academic researchers and industry and deals with many of these issues on a daily basis. Universities are finding they attract both increased industrial funding and outstanding candidates for new faculty positions when the opportunity to commercialize ideas and work collaboratively with industry is clearly encouraged in their academic research e n v i r o n m e n t . Universities should consider actively supporting a "Patent, Publish and Flourish" vision for their academic research. Theriogenology 51:3~, 1999 © 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc.
0093-691X/99/$19.00 PII S0093-691X(98)00248-9
COMMERCIALIZATION OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH (PATENT, PUBLISH AND FLOURISH) Caroline D. Bruce, PhD Manager, Biomedical Technology Transfer, University Industry Liaison Office, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z3 Why have universities and their researchers become more interested in the commercialization of academic research? How does filing a patent application fit with the basic concept of academic freedom to publish? The University mission is to provide a source of education and research to the public. Universities are viewed as institutions based on the free exchange of ideas and an impartial source of information. In the past the university environment allowed researchers to pursue their research with open-ended and open-minded goals to interact with colleagues and to freely publish results. However, this "ideal" has become severely challenged as both grant funding to the individual researcher and government funding to the university has been reduced over the last decade. There is increasing pressure on academics to "publish or perish" in order to compete for tenure and promotion and on universities to find new sources of revenue for their researchers as well as for the institutions themselves. Governments are increasingly aware of universities as a source of technology for commercialization, and also see the importance of industrial collaboration to foster employment opportunities for new graduates. Industry's focus is on meeting customer needs and maximizing profits to stockholders. Due to different pressures and financial competition, industrial research and development has a "publish and perish" attitude that is driven by profit objectives, which tends to limit publication to protect competitive positions. Industry needs to find ways of maximizing research and development dollars especially with corporate down-sizing for example, and many companies now view universities as an important source of new technologies which will help them get "the competitive edge" in today's marketplace. How can universities maintain an academic environment, while encouraging and fostering commercialization of technologies and opportunities for working with industry? In what ways can a university encourage an academic researcher to patent as well as publish? How do you insure that funding basic research with industry dollars will allow academic freedom and scientific integrity to flourish? A University Industry Liaison Office provides the institutional interface between the academic researchers and industry and deals with many of these issues on a daily basis. Universities are finding they attract both increased industrial funding and outstanding candidates for new faculty positions when the opportunity to commercialize ideas and work collaboratively with industry is clearly encouraged in their academic research e n v i r o n m e n t . Universities should consider actively supporting a "Patent, Publish and Flourish" vision for their academic research. Theriogenology 51:3~, 1999 © 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc.
0093-691X/99/$19.00 PII S0093-691X(98)00248-9