patent licensing

Technology transfer job scheduling for universities

Introduction
job scheduling weekly and daily assignments

job scheduling weekly and daily assignments the old fashioned way

This study describes the development of a novel job scheduling tool for university technology transfer using simulated annealing in R-programming. Technology commercialization managers often face training inventors on intellectual property (IP) laws and IP policies. They also evaluate invention disclosures for patentability and marketability. In addition, they draft and implement invention marketing plans. Further, they work closely with patent counsel on patent prosecution. Expediency is important. The amount of time taken to evaluate invention disclosures and file patent applications often conflicts with inventors’ desire to publish findings. Yet, very few technology transfer managers use project management job scheduling tools to minimize processing time.

Importance of Job scheduling

Job scheduling is crucial because it has the potential for improving staff accountability and trust between the TTO staff and faculty. However, TTO staff that value their academic freedom and autonomy may resist the use of job scheduling tools. A description of experimentation follows and the test results is provided. The discussion provides the primary implication for technology managers.  The job scheduling tool schedules technology transfer tasks quite easily and speedily with this proposed job scheduling tool. I scheduled a hypothetical set of TTO staff job tasks that did not include faculty inventor tasks. These are study limitations. Thus, future research should include further experimentation in actual university technology transfer offices using the job tasks in real time.

Findings

In short, I found fascinating discoveries through experimentation. Simulation annealing is an advanced optimization tool. University technology transfer job scheduling is ideal for this. The meta-heuristic simulated annealing program converges to an optimal solution that satisfied the constraints. As it happens, the use of simulated annealing for job scheduling statistically guarantees finding an optimal solution (Ingber, 1993).  In conclusion, the job scheduling tool experimentation illustrates the use of advanced optimization to schedule TTO staff job tasks in a very quick and simple manner.

Read More..

Black American Frugal Innovators in a circular economy

Introduction
black frugal innovations George Washington Carver

Black frugal innovator George Washington Carver at Tuskegee Institute HBCU

This article advocates that Black American frugal innovators were slaves and freed slaves. They embraced circular economy principles. Frugal innovation occurs when the rich make use of innovations developed in poor countries. There is purportedly a current rivalry between India and China in the frugal innovation arena. This research advocates that the concept of frugal innovation did not originate in Asia or India.

The practice of the rich taking the poor’s innovations is not new. In particular, Black American slaves and freed slaves developed a number of inventions in poverty conditions. It is imperative that frugal innovation research be more historically accurate. This research reduces the marginalization of contributions developed by poor innovators. This increases the more widespread embrace of circular economy principles. If a poor innovator resides in a rich country, then that innovator should not be excluded from the frugal innovator category. To sum up, Black innovators; use of frugality to innovate is pertinent.

North American, Indian and Asian poor

Arguably, Black American inventors during slavery and the reconstruction period post-slavery were indeed frugal innovators. Further, these frugal innovators also embraced circular economy principles. The current scholarship emphasizes frugal innovations originating in India and Asia. These are not the only races of people that are frugal innovators. This current notion is harmful. Perhaps much can be gained in achieving the mainstream implementation of circular economy principles if more diverse populations of frugal innovators were identified. Research on other populations that are frugal out of necessity is necessary. These populations need to be equally marketed and promoted.

In addition to recognizing the frugal innovations that are being developed in rural developing countries, it is important to recognize the contributions of Black frugal innovators. Doing so may help inspire young people to follow this path. Carrying this torch from generation to generation may bolster the sustainability of the frugal innovation movement. Read more here…

See also HBCUs as emerging research institutions in university technology transfer

and HBCU budget resource planning for university technology transfer

Emerging Research Institutions’ patent licensing

Introduction
Emerging research HBCU Howard University research lab

Emerging research institutions include HBCUs

Emerging research institutions’ patent licensing can benefit from budgeting for patent licensing revenues. Surely, these added revenues can help research institutions become more sustainable financially. However, many Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) struggle to succeed in technology transfer. Therefore, this study describes the development of a university technology transfer supply chain network sustainability tool. Private and public ERls can use this tool to become more self-reliant financially. Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are ERls. The HBCU case was studied. HBCUs lag behind their peer non-HBCUs. Historically they have been under-served and were originally established largely as teaching and blue-collar trade schools.

Systems Dynamics and Optimized Resource Planning

Notably, some doctoral HBCUs desire to strengthen their research activities. Systems dynamics is the process of combining the theory, method, and philosophy necessary to analyze the behavior of a system. This provides a common foundation that can be applied to understand and influence how things change over time. Applying the systems dynamics approach, a budget resource planning tool was developed using a linear programming optimization technique. This study illustrates that classic industrial uses of linear programming optimization techniques to optimize budget resource planning. Thus, the goal is to create sustainable supply chain networks for HBCUs and other emerging research institutions. This study contributes to the improved execution of technology transfer projects through better budget resource planning.

To conclude, patenting and marketing to potential industry licenses is very expensive. This is a real problem and balancing act for TTO directors (Silverman, 2007). With each invention disclosure, TTOs must decide whether to invest funds, patent and market the technology quickly. Otherwise, they miss opportunities. A study of TTO directors revealed that 20.3% of the TTOs have to be self- sufficient and fund at least 50% of their operating budgets (Abrams, 2009). Thus, budget resource planning is crucial for all research universities. Moreover, budget strapped ERIs such as HBCUs experience this problem. Emerging research patent licensing is sensitive. The level of resources committed to university tech transfer programs is the greatest determinant of success (Crowell, 2005). This study illustrates the use of classic industrial linear programming optimization techniques can to uniquely optimize budget resources.

Read more here…

See also HBCUs budget resource planning in university technology transfer

Read also about black frugal innovations

HBCU patent licensing budget resource planning

Introduction
Emerging research HBCU Spelman College research lab

Emerging research institutions include HBCUs

This study describes how HBCU patent licensing in technology transfer can benefit from budgeting for patent licensing revenues. This study showcases the development of a university technology transfer supply chain network sustainability tool that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can use. The goal is to help HBCUs become more self-reliant financially. Unfortunately, HBCUs lag behind their peer non-HBCUs because historically they have been under-served. Further, they were originally established largely as teaching and blue-collar trade schools. Increased involvement in research-oriented activities such as technology transfer will likely enable HBCUs. HBCUs can grow into new or stronger research institutions.

The literature review revealed several problem areas with non-HBCUs university technology transfer include a resource planning issues. These problem areas for non-HBCUs would be challenging for HBCUs as well. Problems with university technology transfer have led to unethical behavior among faculty inventors and university technology transfer specialists at non-HBCUs (C. Hamilton, Schumann, D., 2016). Despite these problems, the non-HBCUs are generating licensing revenues.

Systems Dynamics and Optimized Resource Planning

Systems dynamics is the process of combining the theory, method, and philosophy necessary to analyze the behavior of a system. This provides a common foundation that can be applied to understand and influence how things change over time. Applying the systems dynamics approach, a budget resource planning tool was developed using a linear programming optimization technique. This study illustrates that classic industrial uses of linear programming optimization techniques to optimize budget resource planning. The goal is to create sustainable supply chain networks for HBCUs and other emerging research institutions. This study contributes to the improved execution of technology transfer projects through better budget resource planning.

Optimization and advanced optimization tools can address problems with university technology transfer. This will help level the playing field for HBCUs. To summarize, this novel budget resource planning tool will enable the HBCU to plan its labor resources (i.e. the use of its TTO licensing staff suppliers). This will help them recuperate their labor costs and patenting legal fees. Certainly, this tool is valuable for any emerging research institutions (ERIs), like HBCUs. New start-up firms have emerging research operations. Private engineering, biotech and pharmaceutical firms with newly established R&D tech commercialization units can also benefit from the use of this resource optimization tool. HBCU patent licensing is crucial to improving financial sustainability.

 Read more here…

See also HBCUs as Emerging Research Institutions

Also read about black frugal innovations

Attention Based View in university technology transfer

 Introduction

This article is about applying the attention based view to university technology transfer to improve patent licensing performance. Since the passage of the Bayh Dole Act of 1980, universities have owned technological inventions afforded by federal research funding. There are still university technology transfer offices that struggle with increasing their licensing revenues. There is a persistent under performance by university technology transfer offices. For example, between 2005 and 2011, there was no substantial growth in licenses executed by university technology transfer offices. This paper makes the contribution of advocating the novel use of cognitive thinking’s attention based view to resolve this problem.

The attention based view

The attention based view teaches that human attention is limited.  Also, organizations are limited in what they pay attention to (Cyert, 1963; Ocasio, 1997). Arguably, universities may struggle with increasing their licensing revenues because they are not paying sufficient attention to licensing. Awareness of the problem is the first step in resolving it. It is propositioned that university technology transfer office staff pay more attention to intellectual property protection than patent marketing. They pay more attention to protection than licensing. This results in lower licensing revenues and lower overall performance.

IP protection vs. Marketing

If TTOs pay more attention to intellectual property protection than licensing, this would result in lower licensing revenues. The argument here is that the TTO staff will likely pay more attention to protecting the university’s intellectual property (i.e. primarily the patent portfolio). Further, they will likely pay more attention to maintaining intellectual property protection. This means they pay attention to making strategic decisions focused on providing intellectual property compliance training to faculty inventors and their graduate research students. They review and negotiate the intellectual property clauses in sponsored research program agreements. TTO staff work with outside patent counsel and faculty inventors on patent applications which are being prosecuted.

If  TTOs pay more attention to intellectual property protection than patent marketing, this would result in lower licensing revenues. Before licensing takes place, there is patent marketing. Marketing and licensing comprises the university technology commercialization process. Further, I propose that university TTO staff are likely paying more attention to intellectual property protection than they are paying attention to marketing. A survey of 26 TTOs noted that 33% hired staff with either a MBA or PhD (Swamidass, 2009). About 71% of the TTOs that responded stated that they hire staff that have at least eight (8) years of technology transfer expertise (Swamidass, 2009).

Summary

As aforementioned, a 2005 study by Link and Siegel revealed that many faculty research communicated grave frustration with the inadequate business and marketing experience of the TTO staff (Link, 2007). TTO staff may lack business and marketing experience. We do not know whether the staff pays attention to in relation to their experience. Applying the attention based view, these propositions focus on what the TTO staff pays attention to. I proposition that TTO staff actually pay less attention to patent marketing and licensing than to intellectual property protection. These propositions will be tested by surveying TTO staff using, for example, psychological research constructs that are available for measuring attention.

Read more here…

Patent licensing antitrust guidelines 1995

1995 Antitrust Guidelines for Licensing Intellectual Property
antitrust guidelines for the licensing of intellectual property cover page

Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property

This research is about the adequacy of the 1995 patent licensing antitrust guidelines by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 1995, the DOJ and FTC adopted new guidelines for the licensing of intellectual property rights. The goal is for intellectual property licensing to not violate antitrust laws. The 1995 Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property (IP Guidelines) provide DOJ and FTC antitrust enforcement policy.

In the past, practitioners attempted to predict the enforcement initiatives relative to their licensing. The IP Guidelines do not provide practitioners with a sufficient level of comfort (Hamilton, 2002).Unfortunately, these Guidelines are inadequate. They misunderstand the nature of intellectual property markets and provide insufficient guidance in the most difficult areas. The Guidelines include a special treatment of a newly defined “innovation market”. This is flawed and lack a focus on license-misuse activity that creates entry barriers. Antitrust and patent law practitioners have heavily debated the IP Guidelines.

2001 Hearings on Competition in the Knowledge Based Economy

To address these concerns, in November 2001, the agencies held hearings. The hearings were entitled “Competition and Intellectual Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge-Based Economy”. Hearings were held between February and November 2002 (Muris, 2001). They took place over 24 days at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and in Washington, DC. Incredibly, this involved more than 300 panelists of representatives of high-tech industries and law firms. The independent inventor community, leading patent and antitrust organizations, and scholars also participated.

2003 FTC report on promoting innovation

In October 2003, the FTC issued a report. The report was entitled “To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy”. It focused on the patent law system. Going forward, a second report by both agencies was to be forthcoming. This one served to make similar recommendations for the antitrust law enforcement system. Problem areas included: (1) license misuse, (2) standards setting misconduct and (3) the improper acquisition of intellectual property rights.

License misuse is the refusal to grant intellectual property licenses. Also, there can be misconduct during industry standards setting. There can be improper acquisition of broad intellectual property rights through patent settlement agreements. These involved patent pools, cross-licenses, and generic drug market entry. Further, generic drug entry has attracted a great deal of interest. This is in light of the diversion of distribution from wholesalers to the multi-billion-dollar internet shadow market. This also involved a controversial Medicare Bill (Gaul, 2003). To summarize, the patent licensing antitrust guidelines are important to practitioners. Read more about whether the FTC has addressed these three common types of issues.  Read more here…

New 2017 guidelines 

Amend Bayh Dole Act to create CEDAs

Bayh Dole senators appearing side by side respectively

The Bayh Dole Act needs to be amended to include Cooperative Economic Development Agreements (CEDAs) patterned after CRADAs

Congress should amend the Bayh-Dole Act to provide for newly proposed Cooperative Economic Development Agreements (CEDAs) patterned after (CRADAs). CEDAs would be patterned after the Stevenson-Wydler Act’s Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). Technology transfer enables private industry and academia to make practical use of advanced research, development, and technical expertise. Indeed, universities are a rich source of science and technology. Universities can support local government and business development as well as economic growth. Thus, it is essential for research universities to transfer their wisdom to the public for its use and benefit.

 Bayh Dole and the New Economy

Today, universities operate in an economic climate that requires both capital and knowledge. Universities take advantage of government technology initiatives such as the Bayh-Dole Act. They serve as a catalyst for the creation of a large number of new, incubated companies. Universities should have a seedbed effect on their local economies. This is one way to take advantage of the dynamics of the “New Economy”. It takes advantage of its ability to increase the quality of living at the local government level.

Certainly, the Bayh-Dole Act has revolutionized university-industry relations. This causes university licensing offices to use start-up companies to commercialize early stage inventions. Notably, hundreds of start-up companies have been formed on the basis of a licensed academic invention. This results in the commercialization of about ten percent of university ideas (Goldfarb, 2002). In short, in order to increase this trend, there needs to be greater communication and cooperation between more players. Organizations besides the universities and industries must take part in the strategic planning that is necessary to effectively commercialize university inventions. This will foster regional economic development. “[I]n difficult economic times, political stakeholders in the technology transfer process usually view success in economic impact terms, and often from short-term and parochial perspectives – how many jobs in my state next year?” (Carr, 1994).

Regional economic development

In reality, universities increasingly pressure their technology transfer specialists to become stewards of their regions’ economic development. However, most specialists have no experience in strategic economic development planning. Alternatively, they form collaborations that foster local government economic development. Furthermore, current regulations do not provide specialists with much guidance. They need guidance on how to facilitate economic development collaborations between their offices and other nonprofit organizations. Thus, this article proposes that Congress amend the Bayh-Dole Act to provide guidance. Universities need guidance on how universities can enter into newly proposed Cooperative Economic Development Agreements (CEDAs). Read more here…

Intellectual Property Antitrust Guidelines

Department of Justice DOJ and Federal Trade Commission FTC logos side by side illustrating the partnership between the two agencies

DOJ and FTC partnership to provide antitrust guidelines for intellectual property licensing

This research is about the intellectual property antitrust guidelines by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission in 1995.The guidelines addressed the licensing of intellectual property rights without violating antitrust laws. Designed to provide clarity, these guidelines instead bred confusion.  They misunderstood the nature of intellectual property markets and provide insufficient guidance in the most difficult areas. Section I of this article discusses the basic provisions of the guidelines, especially their treatment of “innovation markets”.

Problem areas

Arguably, government enforcers should focus primarily on activity that creates entry barriers. Understanding the use and misuse of licensing is the key to analyzing barriers in the IP field. This article examines three common types of license misuse. Patent holders’ potential liability for refusing to grant licenses to competitors is considered in Section II. The effect of setting industry standards and at patent holders’ misconduct during industry standard setting is discussed in Section III. Section III analyzes patent accumulation through devices such as pooling and cross-licensing. The article concludes that the government should further amend the Guidelines to provide clearer rules for use of IP licenses.

Innovation markets

Certainly, innovation is encouraged and is necessary for the economic growth of nations.  The obvious solution to defining innovation markets is simply to define relevant innovations. There is a need to define innovation markets in terms of the traditional goods and services markets associated with the licensed innovations. Moreover, agency focus should not be on creating a new market definition for innovations. We should associate innovations with the traditional market for the end-product line and location. These are the first two basic considerations of the relevant market definition.

Summary

Notably, licensing is a key phase of market entry for the development of innovative products and services (See U.S. Dep’t of Justice and Fed. Trade Comm’n, HORIZONTAL MERGER GUIDELINES, 1992 § 3.1, reprinted in 4 TRADE REG. REP. (CCH) ¶ 13, 104). Thus, agency guidance should focus on conduct in the high-tech arena that constitutes a potential entry barrier. Key high-tech entry barriers include refusals to license, misconduct during standards-setting activities, and patent accumulation methods. Patent accumulation methods include cross-Iicensing, package licensing, and patent pools. In short, these activities merit closer attention and practitioners need better guidance from the Agencies.

Read the article here…

Update: New 2017 intellectual property antitrust guidelines

University Technology Transfer conflicts Love and Hate

Introduction
love and hate as options in a checklist with love chosen by a gentleman

University technology transfer conflicts stem from job insecurity

This research examines university technology transfer conflicts related to the love and hate between research faculty and technology transfer staff. We attempt to provide greater understanding of how research faculty’s personal values and research universities’ organization values may differ and why. Faculty researchers and tech transfer office (TTO) staff are perceived to be virtuous agents. When both are meeting each other’s needs, a “love” relationship exists. However, when these needs are not met, a “hate” relationship exists that is replete with doubt and uncertainty. Thus, this doubt and uncertainty create tension and subsequent conflicts.

Ethical concerns

There are many accounts where faculty researchers have not followed university policies and expectations. They often violate policy and ethical standards. Likewise, faculty report numerous examples of how TTO staff members’ negligence in servicing their attempts to be good institutional citizens have failed them. Thus, this paper explores this love/hate relationship and reveals numerous conflicts that call into question ethical concerns.

Conflict Management

This article provides a set of recommendations for reducing and potentially alleviating university technology transfer conflicts. Results from a thorough review of the literature on the relationship between faculty and university TTOs reveals that perceived job insecurity is underway. Some research faculty members as well as some TTO staff, unethically violate their university policies. Violations include faculty not disclosing inventions disclosures and the staff selection to not provide full services. There are ways to alleviate the conflict between faculty’s personal values regarding their inventions and university’s organizational values. There is a need to enact measures that build trust and reduce insecurity.  We not only examine this faculty/TTO staff ethical conflicts, but we offer a set of recommendations. In summary, we believe these recommendations will reduce the likelihood of unethical behavior. They encourage greater institutional commitment and trust.

Read the paper here…

Technology transfer toolkit for HBCUs

HBCU technology transfer history
technology transfer toolkit

University technology transfer toolkit to help emerging research institutions such as HBCUs

A technology transfer toolkit for Historically black college and universities HBCUs was proposed in my PhD dissertation. Unfortunately, under-resourced HBCU administrators complain and experience a decline in financial support from government sources (Jones, 2013). This is a serious, pressing problem that needs closer attention. In fact, some experts have argued that HBCUs are no longer relevant and should close their doors (John M. Lee Jr., 2013). Founders established HBCUs  to address unequal access to education (Lorenzo L. Esters, 2013; Nia Imani Cantey, 2013). Per the Carnegie classifications of universities, few of the HBCUs are research oriented (The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 2016). Thus, few HBCUs are engaged in technology licensing for revenue generation. They have not adapted to the need for change toward being more financially self-reliant (M. G. Williams, 2010).

Research method

I conducted a mixed method study of the development of an university technology transfer toolkit that HBCUs can use to become more self-reliant financially. Historically under-served HBCUs lag behind their peer non-HBCUs. Largely, they originated as teaching and blue-collar trade schools. Increased involvement in these research-oriented activities will likely enable HBCUs to grow into new or stronger research institutions. A comprehensive literature review of university technology transfer reveals non-HBCUs’ technology transfer problem areas. Addressing these issues will assist HBCUs as well.

Proposed toolkit

Notably, the problem areas for non-HBCUs would be challenging for HBCUs as well. Thus, the non-HBCUs tech transfer challenges are likely to be part of the reason that HBCUs are not taking advantage of tech commercialization. The proposed tool kit includes tools that will likely alleviate the problem areas. This would increase HBCU involvement in university technology transfer, industry partnerships, and tech-led business ventures. Faculty engagement in tech transfer requires Informal communication networks (D. Wright, 2013).

Further, dvanced planning information technology tools aid in advancing informal knowledge sharing networks which increase faculty engagement in tech transfer. They can improve decision making and perceived university tech commercialization service competencies and performance. Thus, with respect to advancing the participation of HBCUs in university tech commercialization, the research problems presented include:

  1. Given that the problems that non-HBCUs face with university technology transfer will likely equally or more challenging for HBCUs, what are the problem areas with non-HBCUs’ university technology transfer?
  2. What theoretical framework for research aids in the development of advanced planning system tools to help HBCUs with technology transfer?
  3. What advanced planning system tools can diminish the university technology transfer problems?
supply chain management illustrated with images

University technology transfer is a supply chain network

In conclusion, I proposed that university technology transfer should be approached from the novel view that it is a supply chain network!  Further, the social comparison theory, resource based view and paradigms shifting in combination form the theoretical framework for testing this proposition.

Read more here…