By any objective metric, the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 has been an unqualified success in growing the U.S. economy and making lives better around the world.
Previously, if an invention was made even partially with government support, it was taken from its creators and warehoused in Washington. The incentives of patent ownership were destroyed, and nearly 28,000 inventions simply gathered dust on the shelves.
Bayh-Dole reversed this waste, allowing universities and small businesses to own inventions they created with federal support, wisely decentralizing technology management from Washington to those making the discoveries.
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