Linkages Grow Between Research and Innovation
June 2000
Record Numbers Seen in New Patents and Citations to Research. The
1990s saw the end of the Cold War, the beginning of the Internet and a
major shift in the focus of the economy within the U.S. and overseas. A
dramatic indicator of this shift was the sudden increase in new patenting
activity. New patents were awarded in record numbers. According to Science
and Engineering Indicators 2000, the U.S. awarded 148,000 patents in
1998, a meteoric rise of 32 percent in just one year over 1997 totals.
The percentage increase was as large for foreign inventors as it was for
U.S. inventors.
Just as impressive was the growth in citations to U.S. research articles
for patents awarded over a recent two-year period. At the end of 1996,
there were 47,000 such citations for the year. In 1998, they jumped to
108,000, more than doubling the total of two years' previous. In the field
of biomedical research alone, scientific articles cited in patents went
from just below 20,650 per year to nearly 55,900 per year from 1996 to
1998.
Two possible reasons for the steep increase in patenting and the rise
in patent citations to scientific literature include: (1) a growing closeness
of some research areas to practical application; and (2) the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office's (PTO) increased willingness to award "upstream" patents,
more often associated with pre-development work or "building blocks" resulting
from research.
New patent citations to "prior art" (that which contributes materially
to the product or process being patented) increasingly include scientific
and technical articles. This trend is considered a strong indication of
the increased link between research and innovative application, as inventors
and entrepreneurs develop new processes and products built upon basic
and applied research, often from publicly funded sources.
Academic patenting is on the rise. Universities are "giving increased
attention to potential economic benefits inherent in even their most basic
research…especially in the life sciences," says the new edition of Science
and Engineering Indicators, 2000. In doing so, universities are moving
to protect the results of their work.
The number of universities receiving patents grew rapidly in the 1980s
and has slowed down somewhat in the 1990s. Conversely, the top 100 public
and top 100 private universities have increased their patenting activity
tremendously since 1995. Academic patents have risen at a much higher
rate than for all U.S. patents on an annual basis since the 1980s. Unlike
industry, however, academic patents have concentrated in a much smaller
range of study areas.
Universities, while moving to protect their research, have also shown
a willingness to exploit its economic potential through royalties and
licensing arrangements with industry. Companies and entrepreneurs are
recognizing the importance of research and are investing in its market
potential. In 1997 and 1998, a rapid rate of increase not only occurred
in the numbers of academic patents and patent applications, but also in
license disclosures, revenue-generating licenses and options, and new
startup firms.
Ethical questions are not only scientific but business-related. Rising
university patenting activity and collaborations with industry have raised
questions about "possible unintended consequences." Concerns are many
and varied, among which are: potential distortion of the nature and direction
of academic basic research; contract clauses specifying delays or limitations
in the publication of research results or suppression of results for commercial
gain; the potential for faculty members' conflicting economic interests
or arrangements; universities' potentially ambiguous position as they
acquire equity interests in commercial enterprises; and finally, whether
or not the patenting of government-sponsored research results is detrimental
to the goal of enhancing the transfer of new technologies.
Conclusion. Despite the more troubling questions that dot the
landscape, the collaborative efforts within science and engineering are
growing among universities and their researchers, and within disciplines
- also among international partners and government/private/nonprofit entities.
All point to increasing economic benefits from the relationships. And
as links grow among physical, life and social sciences, new issues come
into sharp focus, including how to incorporate societal benefits from
research, and potential negative consequences to be avoided.
For more information, see: Chapters 6 & 7, Science & Engineering
Indicators, 2000
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