The link between technology transfer and international extension of university patents: Evidence from Spain

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the decision making process at university technology transfer offices and show that the last steps in the process of international patent extension, when costs step up, tend to be only taken conditional on the existence of a licensing agreement. This information has so far been underexploited by policy makers and innovation scholars in search of innovation indicators. We argue that the number of international patent families filed by a university can be used as a rough indicator of technology transfer activity mediated through patents, especially in the context of tight public university budgets and national patent systems with fee reductions for universities. To support our argument, we review qualitative information from interviews at technology transfer offices, regulations and internal statutes from a selection of Spanish universities and present a statistical analysis of the relation between patent internationalisation and licensing.

The Gender Patenting Gap: A Study on the Iberoamerican Countries

“…As a way of measuring the difference between the different countries that form Iberoamerica, the Latin American countries are considered on the one hand and the Iberian countries (Spain and Portugal) on the other hand. Spain and Portugal are the only countries in Europe in which there is a 100 percent exemption of patent fees for public universities (Martinez & Bares, 2018).…”

Improving knowledge transfer and collaboration between science and business in Spain

“…The autonomous regions define their own plans. 57 Previously in 2008, the European Commission had published a recommendation on the management of intellectual property (IP) in knowledge transfer activities and good practices at universities and PROs, encouraging countries to adopt a series of policy principles leading to coherent normative frameworks and institutional practices within the public research institutions for IP and knowledge transfer, as well as for collaborative research and subcontracting (European Commission, 2008 [151]). 58 See article 21 of the 24/2015 Patent Law.…”

Intermediation in Technology Transfer Processes in Agro-Industrial Innovation Systems: State of Art

“…Within the framework of these technology transfer processes, the following factors are taken into account: the generation of innovation in organizations [16], social capital [17] involved in the social networks of the actors who participate in the technology transfer [18], their interactions [19] and their previous relationships [20]; the university-industry relationships [21], the formality of the process (which can be formal or informal) according to knowledge management and the interactions between actors [17], [22], the limits of organizations and incentives [23], economic benefits e.g. profits on patents [24], technological cooperation between organizations [24], patents seen as a transfer mechanism [18], [25], the business culture that universities can adopt [21], the option of allowing students to participate in industry [17], the culture of the parties [17], legal frameworks [24], the uncertainties of innovations involved in technology transfer processes [26], and the importance of considering the intellectual property in the processes [13], [27]. This intellectual property can be seen materialized in the adoption of technology transfer mechanisms such as the creation of spin-off, patent licensing, collaboration actions between academia and industry [28], and the training of professionals with knowledge that contribute to the solution of industry needs [29].…”

“…In turn, at the macroeconomic level, technology transfer can be measured through business creation and job creation [30]. Additionally, other ways of identifying the success of technology transfer have been through the licensing of inventions [20], [24], incentives for personnel who participate in technology transfer processes [23], the indicators of patent families [24], and knowledge intensive entrepreneurship at universities [30].…”