Industry-Sponsored Academic Inventions Result in Innovative Patents

Brian Wright, a UC Berkeley professor of agricultural and resource economics, has conducted a study that revealed industry-sponsored academic research leads to more innovative patents and licenses.

Wright studied  two decades of records from the University of California system, calling into question corporate support of research and inventions. Such projects funded by the government or non-profit organizations prove to be more useful.

Interestingly enough, Professor Wright's study was funded by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency with an annual budget of $7.2 billion. The NSF, as well as other government agencies and non-profits, have a duty to serve society as efficiently as possible, because their money is either raised or allocated through taxes--for the most part. Corporations serve as their own entity, so perhaps their research projects aren't as conscientious as government or non-profit funded ones.

According to Wright's findings, corporate research focuses on commercialization, which is both good and bad because their main focus is serving the greater good. It can become bad once profitability becomes the paramount goal. Wright's study also suggested that maybe corporate funding shifts the focus away from basic science. And since their clearance process for approving a study or invention is in their own hands, they're most likely able to approve more much faster, enabling them to yield more patents and licenses.

"During the last few decades, the share of gross domestic product supporting research and development has been stable, but the corporate share has increased substantially," said Joshua Rosenbloom in a news release. "This may reflect a shift in emphasis away from basic science discoveries that provide a basis for future commercialization." Rosenbloom is the program director for Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP).

The study examined 12,516 inventions at nine University of California campuses and three laboratories, finding that industry-funded inventions produced more patents and licenses between 1990-2010. The authors are dubious of these industry-funded projects and believe that they might be suppressing unfavorable research for their own personal gain.

To read more about the study, visit this NSF news release as well as the published study in the journal Nature.