Showcasing Innovation:

Pathways for Public Awareness

Showcasing Innovation: Pathways for Public Awareness

Although inventions have a profound ability to reshape communities, enhance individual lives, and provide universal benefits transcending geographic and cultural boundaries, their value must be communicated before it can be observed.

This Section focuses on communication strategies necessary to publicize new inventions. These may include various media such as press releases, academic publications, industry conferences, social media, and collaborations with influencers in the field. Collectively, we try to identify and target the audience most likely to benefit from, or be interested in, the invention.

 

The Evolution of Motivation in Innovation

The Bayh-Dole Act, officially enacted in 1980, significantly reshaped the landscape of innovation and commercialization of federally funded research in the United States. This legislation allowed universities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations to retain intellectual property rights of inventions developed through Federal funding, with the expectation that these entities would effectively license and commercialize their discoveries. The Act was designed to achieve several key objectives and has resulted in numerous benefits. 

Spurring Economic Growth and Public Benefits 

By encouraging universities and businesses to patent and license their discoveries, the Act anticipated that these innovations would lead to new businesses and expand existing ones.  In addition, by retaining the Rights to their inventions, universities could potentially earn significant revenue from patents, which could be reinvested into further research and education.

By promoting the practical application of research discoveries (i.e., Commercialization), the Act helped ensure that the general public could benefit from innovations developed through federally funded research.