In honor of our nation's birthday, my family visited the Mount Vernon plantation of George and Martha Washington, and nearby George Washington Gristmill. In addition to being a nice way to spend part of the Fourth of July, the Gristmill provides one of our nation's early technology transfer success stories.

This dispatch comes from, Susan Finston, BayhDole25, Inc. Chair, who attended World IP Day In Washington on Wednesday 26 April

Yesterday I heard, not for the first time, an interesting speaker who turns on its head the idea that intellectual property and the technology transfer it supports, benefits the rich at the expense of the poor. I have long been a fan of Professor Lee Reed, of the University of Georgia. He was the Keynote luncheon speaker at an Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) April 26th event held in honor of World Intellectual Property (IP Day). He noted, correctly, that since the dawn of time the rich have found a way to protect their property (and by extension IP), whether through high walls or private security. It is the poorest and least advantaged among us, whether individuals or nations, who are truly in need of protection of intellectual property, to ensure the freedom to exclude others. In his words, "property is liberty," in the most fundamental sense.

My name is Dan Woods, Executive Director of BayhDole25, Inc.

It is with great pleaasure that I write this blog entry. It is the culmination of months of effort from me and the team I assembled to help, and Susan Finston and Al Chakrabarty, the other members of the board of directors. We have set out to create an educational resource to help explain the value of the role the Bayh Dole Act of 1980 has played in technology transfer.

BayhDole25.org is pleased to announce the publication of its inaugural white paper:

BayhDole at 25: A survey of the origins, effects, and prospects of the Bayh Dole Act.

The white paper and press release are attached to this post.

BayhDole25 is a not-for-profit organization with a pending application for 501(C)(3) status. We are a non-governmental organization that will provide educational resources, relating to the U.S. Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and related United States and international technology transfer legislation.

BayhDole25 is dedicated to providing educational resources on the Bayh Dole Act of 1980 and related legislation that revolutionized technology transfer through licensing of government-owned patent rights and other intellectual property.

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.