Even in the USA, universities can give businesses a hard time

Politicians in the UK, and maybe elsewhere, like to hold up the USA as a role model for local universities in how to deal with business. Gordon Brown even went so far as to throw millions at MIT and Cambridge University to lure them into a shot-gun marriage.

 

An article in The NewYork Times suggests that university-industry relationships aren't always that great. The piece quotes Stuart Feldman, vice president for computer science at IBM’s research laboratories, as saying “Universities have made life increasingly difficult to do research with them because of all the contractual issues around intellectual property. We would like the universities to open up again.”

 

The article is about an announcement of a set of new software research projects with seven universities in the USA. IBM's press release says that:

This gets around the problem of patents, which seems to be the issue that upsets companies.  As the New York Times explained it, the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 meant that universities could hold and license out patents on federally funded research. "Since then," the article continues, "universities have often viewed themselves as idea factories and, like many corporations, have sought to cash in on their intellectual property."

 

There are lessons here for universities everywhere. It is very easy to frighten off people who might otherwise want to support your researchers. And if IBM sees problems, what hopes are there for smaller businesses?