Bayh-Dole Act

The Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980 in the United States, allows universities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations to retain ownership of inventions developed with federal funding. This means that when research funded by the government leads to new technologies or products, the institutions can patent and commercialize these inventions. The goal of the act is to encourage innovation and collaboration between academia and industry, ultimately accelerating the transfer of technology to the marketplace, benefiting the economy and society.