Federal R&D and Scientific Innovation - ACS Publications - American

8 Patents and Technology Transfer WILLIAM O. QUESENBERRY

Downloaded by UNIV LAVAL on July 10, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: July 6, 1979 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1979-0105.ch008

Patent Counsel for the Navy, Dept. of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA 22217

World War II disturbed the tranquility of science and technology. Prewar Federal sponsorship of about forty million dollars a year in research and development has exploded to where three times that amount in tax dollars is spent each day in the current fiscal year. In doing so, the Federal Government supplies the bulk of research and development funds to the U.S. economy. To bring the matter a little closer to home, half of this Federal outlay is represented by the eleven-plus billion dollars allocated to defense research and development. Research and development sponsorship has produced and accumulated, particularly within the Military Departments, a vast amount of new technology. This technology has served the defense establishment well in its mission to develop and acquire the weapons systems and materiel necessary for the defense of the nation. Large defense and aerospace contractors have transferred aircraft, air control and safety, computer and similar technology from the military sector to the civilian sector. Beyond that, there seems to have been little additional return on investment to the taxpayer in terms of use of this accumulated technology by private industry in its pursuit of the civilian market. In h i s t o r y ' s f i r s t P r e s i d e n t i a l Message on S c i e n c e and T e c h n o l o g y t o t h e C o n g r e s s i n 1 9 7 2 , i t was a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t a n a s s e t unused i s an a s s e t wasted. The P r e s i d e n t s t r e s s e d t h e need t o apply Government-generated technology to s o l v i n g the n a t i o n ' s s o c i a l and economic problems and b o l s t e r i n g A m e r i c a n l e a d e r s h i p i n trade competition. T h i s seemed t o b e t h e s i g n a l f o r e x e c u t i v e a g e n c i e s t o o r g a n i z e and s u p p o r t e f f e c t i v e programs f o r t r a n s f e r r i n g m i s s i o n - s e r v i n g technology to wider use i n the p r i v a t e sector. T h e f l u r r y o f a w a r e n e s s and o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r t e c h n o l o g y t r a n s f e r i s now q u i t e a p p a r e n t i n most a g e n c i e s . Whether o r n o t t h i s e f f o r t w i l l be s u c c e s s f u l i n a t t r a c t i n g e n t r e p r e n e u r s t o Government t e c h n o l o g y r e m a i n s t o b e s e e n .

This chapter not subject to U.S. copyright. Published 1979 American Chemical Society

Ault and Smith; Federal R&D and Scientific Innovation ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1979.

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FEDERAL R&D AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION


Scope o f M i l i t a r y - S p o n s o r e d T e c h n o l o g y L o o k i n g b a c k i n t i m e , we m i g h t a s k o u r s e l v e s why i t i s t h a t a s t o r e h o u s e o f some 200 t o 300 b i l l i o n d o l l a r s w o r t h o f t e c h n o l o g y , f r e e f o r t h e t a k i n g , h a s n o t b e e n s n a p p e d up b y p r i v a t e industry. I n s o f a r as d e f e n s e t e c h n o l o g y i s c o n c e r n e d , t h e r e a c t i o n by many t o t h i s q u e s t i o n m i g h t w e l l b e "Who w a n t s t o c o m m e r c i a l i z e t o r p e d o e s , g u i d e d m i s s i l e s , and t a n k s ? " T h i s i s a m i s c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e t r u e makeup o f t e c h n o l o g y g e n e r a t e d by t h e M i l i t a r y Departments. I n d e e d , weapons and weapons s y s t e m s a r e what i t i s a l l a b o u t . H o w e v e r , f o r t h e most p a r t t h e s e a r e c o m p r i s e d o f components and i m p r o v e m e n t s h a v i n g o t h e r a p p l i cations. A l s o r e s e a r c h and d e v e l o p m e n t t o e q u i p and c a r e f o r m i l i t a r y p e r s o n n e l and f a c i l i t i e s g e n e r a t e s new t e c h n o l o g y h a v i n g widespread n o n m i l i t a r y a p p l i c a t i o n . As a r e s u l t , p r o b a b l y no more t h a n a b o u t one o u t o f f i v e i n v e n t i o n s i n t h e N a v y ' s p o r t f o l i o o f some 1 0 , 0 0 0 p a t e n t s a r e d e v i c e s a p p l i c a b l e s o l e l y t o m i l i t a r y usage. G o v e r n m e n t - f i n a n c e d r e s e a r c h and d e v e l o p m e n t i n f u r t h e r a n c e o f t h e N a v y ' s m i s s i o n h a s p r o d u c e d t e c h n o l o g y i n s u c h f i e l d s as medicine, chemistry, communications, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , energy, e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n t r o l , s a f e t y , c o n s t r u c t i o n and m e t a l l u r g y , t o name a few. I l l u s t r a t i v e o f r e c e n t Navy p a t e n t s i n t h e s e f i e l d s are inventions e n t i t l e d : stand-up wheel c h a i r , blood p r e s s u r e m o n i t o r , i m p r o v e d EKG c o n t a c t , h o s p i t a l p a t i e n t m o n i t o r i n g s y s t e m , measurement o f e l e c t r i c a l i m p u l s e s i n t h e e y e - b r a i n system f o r eye e x a m i n a t i o n o f v e r y young c h i l d r e n , m e c h a n i c a l arm, a n t i f o u l i n g p a i n t f o r b o a t s , g a s o l i n e a d d i t i v e , underwater a d h e s i v e , m i c r o p h o n e a n d h e a d s e t f o r u n d e r w a t e r swimmers, s a i l boats, solar panels, o i l s p i l l recovery, a i r p o l l u t i o n control, n o i s e s u p p r e s s o r s , t r a s h dump s y s t e m , w a s t e p r o c e s s i n g , d e s a l i n a t i o n s y s t e m , a n t i - a i r c o l l i s i o n s y s t e m , a i r p a s s e n g e r s a f e t y and s u r v i v a l , a n t i - d e r a i l m e n t sensor for t r a i n s , f i r e f i g h t i n g system, etc. Deterrents

to Technology

Transfer

S i n c e m i l i t a r y s p o n s o r s h i p o f r e s e a r c h and d e v e l o p m e n t d o e s i n f a c t g e n e r a t e t e c h n o l o g y which has p o t e n t i a l f o r c i v i l i a n u s e , t h e r e must b e o t h e r r e a s o n s t h a t i t s o s e l d o m makes an a p p e a r a n c e on t h e c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t . One r e a s o n m i g h t w e l l b e t h a t few e n t r e p r e n e u r s a r e aware o f t h e m i l i t a r y - s p o n s o r e d t e c h n o l o g y t h a t i s a v a i l a b l e f o r nongovernment u s e . Over the y e a r s , t h e M i l i t a r y Departments have not seen i t i n t h e i r m i s s i o n to i m i t a t e the e f f o r t s o f a g e n c i e s s u c h as t h e Department o f A g r i c u l t u r e and the N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s and S p a c e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o a g g r e s s i v e l y p u b l i c i z e t o p r i v a t e i n d u s t r y and p a r t i c u l a r l y s m a l l b u s i n e s s c o n c e r n s what t e c h n i c a l i n n o v a t i o n s a r e a v a i l a b l e . In a d d i t i o n , n o r m a l l y a c e r t a i n amount o f t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n and a s s i s t a n c e s h o u l d f l o w f r o m c r e a t o r t o p r o d u c e r i f e f f e c t i v e and e c o n o m i c a l



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commercial development i s to occur. Here again, p e r s p e c t i v e as to mission, funding, need-to-know, e t c . , has done l i t t l e i n past years to encourage t h i s i n g r e d i e n t of s u c c e s s f u l technology transfer. T h i r d l y , i t must be appreciated that research that produces new technology i s but a s m a l l part of the cost of b r i n g i n g that technology to the market p l a c e . Far greater p r i v a t e r i s k c a p i t a l i s needed at t h i s p o i n t than has been expended by the Government i n i t s research and development phase. A u t h o r i t i e s from the business world estimate that f o r each d o l l a r spent f o r i n v e n t i v e a c t i v i t y , ten d o l l a r s i s r e q u i r e d f o r development of a working model with commercial appeal and one hundred d o l l a r s to t o o l up, manufacture, promote and d i s t r i b u t e . The investment r i s k of b r i n g i n g u n t r i e d i n v e n t i o n s to the commercial market place must be p r o t e c t e d from c o a t t a i l r i d i n g by would-be competitors or the prudent businessman wants no part of the venture. This i s espec i a l l y true i n the case of the smaller manufacturer who, having developed and promoted a new item f o r the market, can subsequently be out-produced and under-priced by a l a r g e r competitor with production economies of s c a l e , extensive d i s t r i b u t i o n channels and no development investment to amortize. The p r o t e c t i o n of p r i v a t e r i s k c a p i t a l has been ignored i n the past by the M i l i t a r y Departments. H i s t o r i c a l l y , the thousands of i n v e n t i o n s i n the m i l i t a r y patent p o r t f o l i o (which represent two-thirds of the patents h e l d by the e n t i r e F e d e r a l Government) have been a v a i l a b l e only on a r o y a l t y - f r e e none x c l u s i v e b a s i s — e s s e n t i a l l y p u b l i c d e d i c a t i o n . The poor r e c o r d of commercialization seems to give credence to the o l d adage "that which i s a v a i l a b l e to everyone i s of l i t t l e value to anyone". T r a n s f e r of technology generated under m i l i t a r y research and development programs w i l l not come a u t o m a t i c a l l y or even e a s i l y . At best, i t represents a high r i s k , long lead time e f f o r t f o r both the agencies and p r o s p e c t i v e users. T r a n s f e r of technology must take p l a c e i n the M i l i t a r y Departments i n an environment of i n c r e a s i n g m i s s i o n requirements and decreasing resources so p r i o r i t i e s of funds, manpower and o b j e c t i v e s i n e v i t a b l y a r i s e . At the same time, o b s t a c l e s of i n e r t i a , s k e p t i c i s m and concern over investment r e t u r n confront the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . Invention L i c e n s i n g In the current e f f o r t by the Department of the Navy to c a r r y out the technology t r a n s f e r mandate, the Naval M a t e r i a l Command i s moving forward i n a p o s i t i v e manner i n the areas of technology a n a l y s i s , p u b l i c i t y and t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e . In support of the NAVMAT program, the O f f i c e of Naval Research, which has Navy-wide r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r patent matters, has inaugurated a p o s i t i v e l i c e n s i n g program f o r i t s p o r t f o l i o of patentable technology.



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T h i s program began i n 1976 when the Secretary of the Navy implemented Government-wide l i c e n s i n g r e g u l a t i o n s issued by the General Services A d m i n i s t r a t i o n . The b a s i c premise of the Navy's l i c e n s i n g program i s to encourage the e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e use of Navy inventions by using the i n c e n t i v e s of the patent system. Navy i n v e n t i o n s are no longer considered dedicated to the p u b l i c nor i s a l i c e n s e granted or i m p l i e d i n a Navy i n v e n t i o n outside of the framework of Navy l i c e n s i n g r e g u l a t i o n s . Navy inventions covered by a U.S. patent or patent a p p l i c a t i o n , except those subject to s e c u r i t y c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , are made a v a i l a b l e f o r l i c e n s i n g by the O f f i c e of Naval Research. L i s t s of a v a i l a b l e inventions are published i n the F e d e r a l R e g i s t e r , the O f f i c i a l Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark O f f i c e and through the t e c h n i c a l p u b l i c a t i o n s of the N a t i o n a l T e c h n i c a l Information S e r v i c e of the Department of Commerce. At t h i s stage, i f an a p p l i c a n t i s w i l l i n g to commercialize an a v a i l a b l e i n v e n t i o n on a nonexclusive b a s i s , and shows the i n t e n t and c a p a b i l i t y to do so, the Navy w i l l grant a nonexclusive l i c e n s e s i n c e t h i s leaves the i n v e n t i o n a v a i l a b l e f o r a d d i t i o n a l l i c e n s e s to other i n t e r e s t e d p a r t i e s and serves to promote competition i n i n d u s t r y . T h i s l i c e n s e i s r o y a l t y - f r e e and continues f o r the l i f e of the patent as long as the l i c e n s e e continues to make the b e n e f i t s of the i n v e n t i o n reasonably a c c e s s i b l e to the p u b l i c . However, i n t e r e s t by the p r i v a t e s e c t o r i n technology a v a i l a b l e only on a nonexclusive b a s i s i s l i m i t e d . Therefore, to o b t a i n commercial u t i l i z a t i o n of some i n v e n t i o n s , i t may be necessary to grant an e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e f o r a l i m i t e d p e r i o d of time as an i n c e n t i v e f o r the investment of r i s k c a p i t a l . Accordi n g l y , i f an i n v e n t i o n has been a v a i l a b l e f o r l i c e n s i n g f o r a p e r i o d of s i x months with no q u a l i f i e d a p p l i c a n t f o r nonexclusive l i c e n s i n g and a p r o s p e c t i v e entrepreneur i s i n t e r e s t e d only i f p r o t e c t e d by e x c l u s i v i t y , a l i m i t e d e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e can be n e g o t i a t e d on terms and c o n d i t i o n s most f a v o r a b l e to the p u b l i c interest. In s e l e c t i n g an e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e e , c o n s i d e r a t i o n given i n c l u d e s : h i s c a p a b i l i t i e s to f u r t h e r the t e c h n i c a l and market development of the i n v e n t i o n , h i s plan to undertake the development, the p r o j e c t e d impact on competition, and the b e n e f i t to the Government and the p u b l i c . An e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e gives the l i c e n s e e the r i g h t to p r a c t i c e the i n v e n t i o n f o r a p e r i o d of time l e s s than the remaining l i f e of the patent. Normally t h i s would be a p e r i o d of f i v e to seven years depending upon the nature of the technology. The concept i s to allow one to three years (more i n the case of commercialization r e q u i r i n g approval of the Food and Drug A d m i n i s t r a t i o n or Environmental P r o t e c t i o n Agency) f o r investment of funds and development of the i n v e n t i o n for the market and a p e r i o d of time at l e a s t long enough f o r the l i c e n s e e to recoup h i s costs by e x p l o i t a t i o n of the i n v e n t i o n . In exchange, the e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e e agrees to i n v e s t a s p e c i f i e d minimum amount of money and commit s p e c i f i e d resources and e f f o r t


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toward c o m m e r c i a l i z i n g t h e i n v e n t i o n and a g r e e s t o c o n t i n u e t o use h i s b e s t e f f o r t s t o p r a c t i c e t h e i n v e n t i o n f o r t h e term o f the l i c e n s e . F a i l u r e t o l i v e up t o t h e a g r e e d c o n d i t i o n s may b e cause f o r r e v o c a t i o n o f t h e l i c e n s e by t h e Navy.


A r o y a l t y p r o v i s i o n and/or o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n f l o w i n g t o t h e Government i s r e q u i r e d i n e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s e s , e a c h c a s e b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d and n e g o t i a t e d o n i t s own m e r i t s . In a l l s i t u a t i o n s , t h e commitment o f r i s k c a p i t a l and t h e b e n e f i t t o t h e p u b l i c d e r i v e d from c o m m e r c i a l u t i l i z a t i o n i s t h e prime o b j e c t i v e o f t h e transfer of the technology. However, i n most i n s t a n c e s a f a i r r o y a l t y t o t h e G o v e r n m e n t , p a y a b l e i n some c a s e s a f t e r r e c o u p m e n t by t h e l i c e n s e e o f h i s i n v e s t m e n t , i s c o n s i d e r e d a p p r o p r i a t e a n d i s normally acceptable to licensees. A more a g g r e s s i v e p r o m o t i o n a l and l i c e n s i n g a p p r o a c h t o t h e t r a n s f e r o f Navy t e c h n o l o g y seems t o h a v e p r o d u c e d a n e n c o u r a g i n g trend of i n t e r e s t by the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . Licensing i n q u i r i e s to t h e O f f i c e o f N a v a l R e s e a r c h jumped f r o m 28 i n F i s c a l Y e a r 1975 t o 93 i f F i s c a l Y e a r 1 9 7 7 , a n i n c r e a s e o f 230%. As t h e r e s u l t o f t h i s i n t e r e s t , t h e Navy was a b l e l a s t y e a r t o g e t commitments t o commercialize eleven inventions on a nonexclusive b a s i s . More I m p o r t a n t l y , i n t h e f i r s t e i g h t e e n months s i n c e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f the Navy's p o l i c y of e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s i n g , seven such l i c e n s e s have been g r a n t e d w i t h p r o p o s a l s t o c o m m e r c i a l l y d e v e l o p f i v e o t h e r i n v e n t i o n s now i n t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s t a g e . This represents s p i n - o f f u t i l i z a t i o n o f t e c h n o l o g y w h i c h w o u l d n o t come a b o u t without t h e i n c e n t i v e of patent p r o t e c t i o n . A l s o , f o r t h e most p a r t , i n t e r e s t seems t o c e n t e r a r o u n d s m a l l b u s i n e s s c o n c e r n s who f i n d exclusive l i c e n s i n g an a i d i n protecting t h e i r entrance into t h e m a r k e t and a n i n d u c e m e n t i n o b t a i n i n g n e c e s s a r y f i n a n c i a l backing. Case

Studies

T h e a d v a n t a g e o f p a t e n t l i c e n s i n g a s a component o f t e c h nology t r a n s f e r i s best i l l u s t r a t e d by case study. One e x a m p l e w o u l d b e a Navy l a b o r a t o r y - c o n c e i v e d i n v e n t i o n i n t h e a r t o f disinfecting. T h e method i n v o l v e s a n a q u e o u s h y p o c h l o r i t e s o l u t i o n which c a n be a p p l i e d t o s e n s i t i v e s u r f a c e s such as s k i n or c l o t h i n g , as w e l l as n o n s e n s i t i v e a r t i c l e s , s i n c e i t s e l f d e s t r u c t s a f t e r a s h o r t p e r i o d o f g e r m i c i d a l a c t i v i t y . The i n v e n t i o n was p a t e n t e d b y t h e Navy i n 1 9 7 3 , b u t was n e v e r d e v e l oped f o r a c t u a l u s e . A s m a l l company o r g a n i z e d b y r e t i r e d m e d i c a l and m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s p e r s o n n e l t o d e v e l o p and m a r k e t p r o d u c t s i n t h e f i e l d o f d i s i n f e c t a n t s became aware o f t h e p a t e n t and i n t e r e s t e d i n i t s d e v e l o p m e n t . F o r two y e a r s , i t was u n s u c c e s s f u l i n g e t t i n g f i n a n c i a l support t o cover required t e s t i n g f o r F o o d and D r u g A d m i n i s t r a t i o n and E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o n Agency a p p r o v a l and t h e development o f a n a p p r o p r i a t e c o n t a i n e r a p p l i c a t o r s y s t e m b e c a u s e a t t h e t i m e Navy p o l i c y was t o l i c e n s e o n l y on a n o n e x c l u s i v e b a s i s . Once a p e r i o d o f e x c l u s i v i t y t o



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p r o t e c t investment became p o s s i b l e , an e n t h u s i a s t i c development program began and f i n a n c i a l support became a r e a l i t y . The company i s o p t i m i s t i c as to s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n of the technology to v a r i o u s f i e l d s of i n d u s t r y . In another example, Navy-sponsored r e s e a r c h at a u n i v e r s i t y produced an i n v e n t i o n i n bone f r a c t u r e h e a l i n g through the use of d i r e c t current from a p o r t a b l e power source. T h i s i n v e n t i o n was patented i n 1974. With the advent of the e x c l u s i v e l i c e n s i n g p o l i c y , a c o r p o r a t i o n engaged p r i m a r i l y i n the r e s e a r c h , development, manufacture and world-wide marketing of orthopedic devices o f f e r e d the Navy a p l a n of commercialization. T h i s i n c l u d e d r i s k c a p i t a l i n excess of two m i l l i o n d o l l a r s to cover f u r t h e r development and t e s t work necessary to o b t a i n approval of the Food and Drug A d m i n i s t r a t i o n to market the i n v e n t i o n . Again, a p e r i o d of e x c l u s i v i t y i n patented technology turned out to be p r e r e q u i s i t e to commitment from the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . I n t e r n a t i o n a l Technology

Transfer

Except f o r the N a t i o n a l Aeronautics and Space A d m i n i s t r a t i o n and the former Atomic Energy Commission, F e d e r a l agencies have g e n e r a l l y ignored the f o r e i g n commercial p o t e n t i a l of t h e i r technology and r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e f o r e i g n p a t e n t i n g has been done by the U.S. Government. As a r e s u l t , f o r e i g n manufacturers have been able to e x p l o i t U.S. patented technology abroad and American i n d u s t r y has had no patent p r o t e c t i o n under which to p r a c t i c e Government technology o u t s i d e the United S t a t e s . Governments of other i n d u s t r i a l i z e d c o u n t r i e s have been l e s s naive and t r a d i t i o n a l l y p r o t e c t s i g n i f i c a n t i n v e n t i o n s under the U.S. patent system. To p r o t e c t U.S. technology abroad, the Naval M a t e r i a l Command, with the a s s i s t a n c e of the Navy patent s t a f f of the O f f i c e of Naval Research, has added a modest experimental i n t e r n a t i o n a l program to i t s e f f o r t . Two i n v e n t i o n s , one i n the communications f i e l d and the other i n the f i e l d of i n d u s t r i a l temperature c o n t r o l , have been s e l e c t e d and patent a p p l i c a t i o n s f i l e d i n s e l e c t e d c o u n t r i e s i n Western Europe and i n Japan. A s u c c e s s f u l i n t e r n a t i o n a l technology t r a n s f e r program supported by f o r e i g n patent p r o t e c t i o n could a i d i n the p r o t e c t i o n of Navy technology from e x p l o i t a t i o n by f o r e i g n i n t e r e s t s , a more f a v o r a b l e balance i n import-export flow and access to important f o r e i g n technology p o t e n t i a l l y u s e f u l to the Navy. Summary A l l Government bodies are charged with p a r t i c u l a r missions and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . Those that provide f o r the n a t i o n a l defense or the improvement of the p u b l i c w e l f a r e seek b e t t e r d e v i c e s , systems and s e r v i c e s d i r e c t l y needed to c a r r y out t h e i r governmental f u n c t i o n . T h i s i s accomplished with the improvement



8.

QUESENBERRY

Patents and Technology Transfer

85

and advancement o f technology i n Government l a b o r a t o r i e s and through c o n t r a c t s f o r research and development with the p r i v a t e sector. In the n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t , an o b j e c t i v e o f agencies engaged i n research programs must be t o encourage widespread use of the improved technology beyond j u s t governmental u s e — t o s t i l l broader ends of n a t i o n a l p o l i c y i n c l u d i n g promoting s c i e n t i f i c progress, the advancement o f knowledge g e n e r a l l y , and above a l l , economic growth. At the present time, the p u b l i c i s being taxed at an annual r a t e o f about twenty-four b i l l i o n d o l l a r s f o r Governmentsponsored research and development. The major p o r t i o n of t h i s i s d i r e c t e d toward n a t i o n a l defense and space accomplishments. However, the knowledge generated i n v o l v e s a l l branches of t e c h nology and i s being l a r g e l y u n d e r u t i l i z e d at a time when the economy needs a l l the help i t can muster. I f i t were channeled to commercialization, i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t y the n a t i o n ' s economy would be enhanced, new business e n t e r p r i s e s would be organized and the operations o f e x i s t i n g business e n t e r p r i s e s expanded, with r e s u l t i n g i n c r e a s e i n employment, improvement i n the standard o f l i v i n g , i n c r e a s e i n t a x revenue, and improvement i n choice and p r i c e b e n e f i t s to the consumer ( i n c l u d i n g the Navy). As the r e a l purchaser of r e s e a r c h , the taxpaying consumer i s e n t i t l e d to a d d i t i o n a l commercial b e n e f i t s from h i s research and development tax d o l l a r . To t h i s end, the Navy's technology t r a n s f e r e f f o r t i s designed to combine a c t i v e promotion and cooperative t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e with a l i c e n s i n g program which uses the i n c e n t i v e s of the patent system as a c a t a l y s t f o r encouraging the t r a n s f e r of Navy technology i n t o the stream of domestic and i n t e r n a t i o n a l commerce. RECEIVED March 14, 1979.


Federal R&D and Scientific Innovation - ACS Publications - American

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