The State of Patenting at Research Institutions in Developing Countries: Policy Approaches and Practices

By granting universities and public research organizations (PROs) the rights to their own intellectual property (IP) - patents, copyrights, trademarks, utility models, industrial designs - derived from statefinanced research, and allowing them to commercialize their results, governments seek to accelerate the transformation of scientific discoveries into industrial applications, and to strengthen collaborative ties between the universities and industries. This study reviews the experience of advanced countries and discusses the opportunities and challenges offered by patents to foster technology transfer from government funded research institutions in developing countries. It presents a review of policy frameworks and recent policy changes aimed to foster academic patenting and technology transfer in low- and middle-income countries. It then analyzes patenting activities by universities and PROs and compares these trends with respect to high-income countries. This analysis is complemented with an assessment of the current state of patenting and technology commercialization practices in a selected group of technology transfer offices (TTOs). We finally discuss policy implications and the challenges developing countries face to build effective technology transfer systems and take full benefit of patents and other intellectual property rights.