Patent donations: making use of the gift of technology

UnrestrictedThe lines between basic and applied research and the sectors of the U.S. economy responsible for each type have begun to blur. No better case for the blurring of these lines and the benefits of technology transfer among research institutions can be provided than the recent phenomenon of corporate patent donations to non-profit research institutions.; Unfortunately few commercial success stories have resulted from patent donations. In most cases, recipients such as universities simply made them available for licensing. It is not suggested that universities not license donated technologies but rather to consider donations for collaborative and strategic situations.; This research focuses on the common elements shared by organizations which made effective use of donated corporate patents. It poses the question ‘What did they do differently?’ The objective of this research is to present patent donations as opportunities for inter-organizational collaborations and to provide the details, or ‘best practices’ of transforming donated technologies. It also expands the donation concept to different types of public-private sector exchanges of technologies and research collaboration.; Three key theories are relevant to this research into converting donated patents into innovations: Innovation Diffusion, Valuation, and Entrepreneurship. Innovation Diffusion describes how the donated technology can be diffused throughout an industry or region. Entrepreneurship identifies the skills and motivations needed to move the technology to new commercial use. Valuation theory explains how the donated technology’s economic and social value increases as it progresses to industry use.; The research study brings together different qualitative findings and quantitative approaches to present how patent donations were viewed and managed. Interviews, workshop presentations, and case studies are used to identify common factors for success and best practices.; The strategies, resources, and commitment necessary to make effective use of the donation opportunity are presented. Those organizations most successful with patent donations recognized the donation opportunity to increase both economic and social value. They collaborated with industry to create new knowledge as well as organizational and regional capacity from the technology