Why is this mission important?

Despite 25 years of documented success, there is a profound lack of awareness of the Bayh-Dole Act and its impact on technology transfer and the biotechnology revolution world-wide. In part because of this, the three pillars that contributed to the positive results of Bayh-Dole are under unprecedented levels of attack, threatening the architecture that has led to the continued technological prowess and economic success of the United States over the past twenty five years.

The documented success of Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and related legislation relies in large part on the following three inter-related American traditions:

• recognition of the importance of market forces and market-oriented pricing to economic growth and development instead of pre-determining the value of new ideas through other means.
• strong rule-of-law protection for intellectual property (including patents, data exclusivity, copyrights and trademarks) for inventions that represent an improvement that is not obvious and include a commercial application in the field; and
• a durable government commitment to education and financing of scientific research in universities and institutions.

No single pillar is sufficient on its own to facilitate effective technology transfer; yet all are necessary. Indeed, countries that adopt only part of the framework — such as the patent licensing provisions — are unlikely to achieve the benefits of successful industrial innovation that they seek.