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Intellectual property obstacles to university-industry collaboration
Abstract
The study investigated what must be altered in the intellectual property system to avoid obstructing collaborative research between academe and industry. The methodology for the inquiry was to solicit persons with knowledge regarding the impact of technology on society's institutions, the idiosyncracies of collaboration, or both. The individuals selected to participate in this inquiry were drawn from a variety of backgrounds. Fifty academic deans were sampled in an effort to collect the opinions of those individuals most likely wanting to defend the traditional value system of the university. Another group included 90 individuals with knowledge of industry-academe alliances or technology transfer. A third group of surveys were sent to 20 individuals whom the committee regarded as "visionaries." This group was expected to be capable of addressing the questions from a more philosophical basis. All groups supported the generalization that technological advances have overrun the boundaries of definition. The concepts of fair use and derivative need to be adjusted in order to balance the rights of the innovator and society. Furthermore, the findings pointed out that incentives to innovate will come from forces that lie outside our system of intellectual property protections. Industry and academe recognized that basic science is essential for society because it is the basis of our technological growth. Furthermore, all groups noted that (a) collaboration is beneficial to the curriculum, (b) a reasonable delay in publication is acceptable, and (c) the entrepreneurial spirit of the faculty should be recognized. The treatment of ideas as property is controversial. Neither the courts nor philosophers have converged the numerous justifications into a single unified theory. Universities have spent insufficient resources to develop a conscious research strategy of their own that is consistent with the institutions mores and tradition. The university is the home of basic research and must accommodate many other things, including applied research. Inefficiencies exist in the process of knowledge and technology transfer. Academe needs to commit resources to the management of transactions of technology and knowledge across institutional boundaries.
Subject Area
Higher education|Information Systems|Library science
Recommended Citation
Hoh, John D, "Intellectual property obstacles to university-industry collaboration" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9233070.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9233070