On December 06, 2024, RCTT's experts took part in the webinar “Unleashing America’s Entrepreneurs: The Bayh-Dole Formula for Economic Prosperity” organized by the Bayh-Dole Coalition.

The webinar participants discussed how the Bayh-Dole Act plays a crucial role in bolstering the U.S. economy and the U.S. international competitiveness.

Prior to the Bayh-Dole Act, the federal government retained all patents resulting from taxpayer-funded research — and it licensed less than 5% of those inventions. The Bayh-Dole Act, in turn, empowered universities and other research institutions to license and commercialize their innovations originating from federal funding. Now, about 30% of federally-funded patents are licensed for additional development.

In the last two decades alone, Bayh-Dole-generated innovation has contributed $1 trillion to the U.S. GDP, supported 6.5 million jobs, and helped launch over 17,000 start-ups.

International competitors have adopted legislation modeled after Bayh-Dole in attempts to rival the United States’ position as an innovation and economic leader.

The webinar was moderated by Joseph P. Allen, Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. As a career staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), he played a key role in the successful passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and its subsequent amendments. Joseph P. Allen moderated the conversation with expert panelists:

• Almesha Campbell: Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University
• Walter Copan: Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at the Colorado School of Mines
• Brian Darmody: Chief Strategy Officer at the Association of University Research Parks
• Franck Journoud: Senior Director of Technology Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers

The webinar video recording can be viewed here.

Read the full transcript of the video webinar here.