University and Small Business Patent

The Bayh-Dole Act, or the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act, gives universities, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations the intellectual ownership of property, including new drugs, that they discover and develop with government funding. 

Birch Bayh, Democratic senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981. With Republican senator Robert Dole, he cosponsored the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 or the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act, which gave universities and small businesses ownership of patents resulting from projects funded by the federal government. The major drug companies benefited as well They can license new drugs from the universities and small businesses that discovered them. 

The University and Small Business Patent Procedure Act, commonly known as the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, gave nonprofit organizations such as universities as well as small businesses the right to retain patents for technology developed with government funds. 

Bayh-DoleAct (University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act). 1980.35 U.S.C. 200—212. 

Robert A. Shanks, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor of Polymer Science at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of over 230 refereed journal papers, 22 book chapters, eight patents, and 378 conference papers on or related to polymer science. He is the recipient of many awards, including the BHERT (Business Higher Education Round Table) Award for academic-industry collaboration, 2005 RAQ Polymer Division Citation, 1990 the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Association Award and CRC Award for Polymers Chairman Award 2005 RMIT University Supervisor of the Year 1997, and RMIT University Most Published Awards 1995,1996. Dr. Shanks has extensive consulting experience with several major industrial projects with many major companies and small businesses. 

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