The Bayh-Dole Act has been a part of USA legislation science 1980. Though the act is more than 30 years old, it is still debatable. Yet, it has been adopted by many other countries. India is not an exception; the bill is already proposed and waiting for approval in the Parliament. The proposed legislation is known as “The Indian Protection and Utilization of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill of 2008” (hereinafter the “Bill”.)

It is well understood that IPR (intellectual property rights) is a major tool for commercialization of technology. The Bill aims to create awareness of the importance of IPR and value the research done by public sector. It is thought to promote technology from universities and Government-funded research institutes by bridging between public and private sectors for the benefit of the people as well as scientists who serve the public sector. Additionally, the Bill makes compulsory that inventors must be paid a minimum of 30% royalties which is generated by the licensing of the technology resulting from publicly-funded research.

Nonetheless, technology transfer managers in India view the Bill with great skepticism.

See balance of story at http://www.beyondthefirstworld.com/?page_id=2027