This article considers the effects of the Leahy--Smith America Invents Act, signed into law in September 2011, on the US patent system and its potential negative implications for US patent activities and patent culture. (Contains 2 notes.)

Nancy N. Heilbronner, the associate dean for academic affairs at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, lectures internationally on topics related to gifted and science education. In this article she writes that we have not fully come to terms with two influential factors that will likely impact future STEM outcomes across the planet: (1) changes…

In the past several years various published papers have questioned whether the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (The University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act) has in reality been a determining factor in promoting the transfer of technology from US universities, as has been credited to it. This paper responds to that criticism, presenting facts and…

Sri Lanka is widening its scope for vocational education sub-sector. The emerging global trends and the aspirations of the emerging Sri Lanka after defeating terrorism demands the preparation of the graduating youth at different stages of the education system for employment. Vocational education faces many challenges. Though there are…

Biotechnology, usually commercialized in collaboration with the private sector, has been among the most fruitful university-based research endeavors, for the public as well as universities. Biological medications have made possible crucial advances in the treatment of life-threatening illnesses and yielded significant royalty streams for the…

The Smith Institute, a collaboration between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and Smith System Engineering, takes a different approach to industry-university relationships. It is based on these premises: academic excellence and industrial use are separate measures of project worth, industry is a patron not a customer, and intellectual…

Discusses issues involving intellectual property and new digital technologies, including legal, technical, and political issues based on experiences of the European Community. Possible future scenarios are presented; possible solutions are suggested; potential standardization needs are considered; and a list of European Community projects in…

The recent increased awareness of the importance to our economy of innovation and the development of new technologies has been coupled with the crafting of new legislation to increase the level of intellectual property protection available to innovators. Because one of the key methods of encouraging the efficient use of intellectual property is…

Considers the value issues raised by the commercial ties formed between university scientists and commercial corporations. Presents arguments for and against patents on the results of university research. Compares cases involving an independent inventor, groups of industrial researchers, and university researchers. (ML)

The concept of owning knowledge is somewhat ethereal and until recently had little relevance to academic institutions. In principle any object that is capable of being controlled is capable of being owned. The most basic control concerns decisions about whether to communicate knowledge. The philosophical foundation which is the basis of the legal…

Much of U.S. public policy reflects what is valued most in the United States--entrepreneurship, the productive interaction of market forces, individual achievement, and inventiveness. It appears to some that the United States has become preoccupied with short-term concerns and has not been acting with its accustomed determination to maximize…

Addresses conditions and concerns involved in accommodating the interests of both innovators of new technologies and the general public. Discusses the tension that exists in intellectual property law between innovators and competitors. Focuses on cases dealing with computer software and semiconductor chip designs, genetically-engineered life…

Financial management in higher education is discussed in six articles, with attention to problems and creative solutions. The problem of capital depletion of facilities, research laboratories, instrumentation, and instructional equipment may be approached by creative partnerships between the state, institutions, and private capital sources. Old…

With inputs of labour and capital slowing, sustaining high growth rates in Korea will increasingly depend on total factor productivity gains, which are in turn driven to a large extent by innovation. While a number of Korean firms are at the world technology frontier in areas such as ICT, the diffusion of technology to lagging sectors is a…

The development of digital content raises new issues as rapid technological developments challenge existing business models and government policies. This OECD study identifies and discusses six groups of business and public policy issues and illustrates these with existing and potential OECD Digital Content Strategies and Policies: (1) Innovation…