Title

University Software Ownership: Technology Transfer or Business as Usual

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

University policies towards ownership of software have recently become quite controversial. In this paper, we present what is to our knowledge the first systematic study of such ownership. We rely in part on a unique, hand-curated database of university software patents. The combination of our quantitative and qualitative research yields a number of interesting results. First, software patents represent an important, and growing, component of university patent holdings. Second, the main determinant of university software patenting is not computer science-related R&D (or even overall R&D) but the university's overall tendency to seek patents on R&D outputs. The second finding indicates that universities may be using a "one size fits all" technology transfer strategy. The problem with such a strategy is that software is likely to follow a different commercialization path than other types of university-generated invention. One possible consequence is lawsuits in which university patents are being asserted against firms that have commercialized independent of the patent.