The History of Technology Transfer

What you will learn:

• History of early technology transfer efforts, successes and failures
• Role of the (applied) American university system
• How patents protect product quality
• Foundations of US government funding for research
• Conflicts and challenges leading up to (and resulting in) the Bayh-Dole Act

Technology transfer and commercialization regulations, rules, and practices are taken as given in modern society. Today’s global practices have evolved from the critical passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980 in the US. However, the Bayh-Dole Act, and indeed how and why we commercialize university inventions, reflects almost a century of experience trying to bring technologies to market, often met with mixed results.

This video walks through a history of university commercialization in the US starting in the late 1890’s and concluding on the eve of the passage of Bayh-Dole. By studying the history of efforts and experiments among institutions, you will understand and appreciate how modern policies were shaped. The course is designed for anyone with an interest in technology transfer’s foundations in the US, including those new to tech transfer as well as veterans interested in learning more about our industry’s history.