Bayh-Dole: Almost 25

Kennedy 307 (5714): 1375 -- Science article: (Subscription required.)

"Now that we are firmly into 2005, the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act (hereafter, B-D) will soon graduate from adolescence to adulthood, having reached the quarter-century mark. This legislation has had a profound impact on science in the United States and, indirectly, in other nations as well. But the ratio of its benefits to its costs depends on one's view of what's important. To those who had worried about technology transfer, it's a huge success. To others, who expressed concern about university/corporate relations or mourn the enclosure of the scientific 'knowledge commons,' it looks more like a bad deal."