Preserving Bayh-Dole to Protect U.S. Economic and Technological Leadership*

Preserving Bayh-Dole to Protect U.S. Economic and Technological Leadership*

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The Bayh-Dole Act is one of the most successful innovation policies in U.S. history, underpinning decades of technology transfer, startup formation, and private investment in federally funded research. Yet today, Bayh-Dole is increasingly misunderstood, politicized, and targeted for reinterpretation in ways that threaten to undermine the very incentives that made it work.

This panel examines why Bayh-Dole matters now more than ever—and what is at stake if its core principles are weakened. Panelists will explore how Bayh-Dole enables the commercialization of government-funded research by aligning universities, startups, industry, and investors around clear ownership and enforceable IP rights. The discussion will address the real-world consequences of expanding march-in rights, price-control theories, and agency overreach on capital formation, licensing, and U.S. competitiveness.

The conversation will also place Bayh-Dole in a global context, examining how erosion of U.S. IP certainty would advantage foreign competitors and state-backed innovation systems that do not share U.S. market principles. Panelists will assess how changes in policy interpretation could ripple through life sciences, advanced manufacturing, AI, and clean energy—sectors critical to national and economic security.

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Materials

1. Analysis of March-In Rights Guidance Marks a Sad Day for the GAO
2. Secretary Lutnick’s Royalty Grab: Bad for America—and the Administration
3. Trump Administration Adopts Innovation-Killing Biden NIH Licensing Guidelines
4. Taxpayers are Already Getting a Good Bang for Their University Research Buck
5. Undermining Bayh-Dole Will Have Tragic Consequences for Innovation
6. Bayh-Dole: A Success Beyond Wildest Dreams

Related IPWatchdog Unleashed Episodes

1. Engines of Innovation: How Universities Propel America Forward
2. U.S. National Security and Competitiveness Begins with IP