The University of Cincinnati has published a list of its “top ten” technologies for 2023. There’s some pretty interesting work on the list, and 5 of the 10 technologies have already found a licensee (exclusive, of course). That’s impressive.
But I wanted to have a look to see how many of these top 10 technologies involved a patent citing federal funding. A Patent Public Search indicates that since 2018, UC has received 126 US patents, 52 of which have a government interest statement. In the top 10 list, however, only one technology appears to be based on a patent citing government interest. And we are talking about at least 15 patents in play. For three technologies, I found only patent applications–none of which cited federal funding. There may, of course, be additional patent applications in the works that have not yet been published.
But on the face of it, only one of UC’s top ten for 2023 involves an invention made in work receiving federal funding–#5 on the list, “treatment for skin conditions.”
There it is. 41% of UC patents 2018 and later cite federal funding, but only one of these makes it into the top ten for 2023. For what it’s worth, this result is consistent with my experience–that inventions with no Bayh-Dole restrictions are easier to license. Other universities may have an entirely different experience. If you work at a university licensing office, it would be interesting to see a report of the licensing of inventions you’ve done in the past five years–how many of those licensed techs involve patents that cite federal funds?