#innovation-policy

#innovation-policy

The patent system was designed for individual inventors. Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers-these were lone entrepreneurs securing temporary monopoly rights in exchange for disclosing their inventions to the public. But sometime after World War II, corporations and universities completed a quiet takeover of the patent office. Today's patent landscape is dominated by patent oligarchs: systematic corporate R&D programs filing thousands of applications annually, not individuals pursuing personal innovation.

These proposals, if implemented, would significantly deter collaborations between researchers across government, academia, and the private sector, resulting in less innovation. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently proposed changing how the federal government funds scientific research at universities across the country. "I think if we fund it and [the universities] invent a patent, the United States of America taxpayer should get half" of the royalties when universities license those patents to private companies for further development, he suggested.

Unlike many sector bodies, NCUB combines government backing with membership contributions from both universities and businesses, a model it says ensures policy recommendations and practice are grounded in the realities of both sectors. Over the next four years, NCUB's strategy will focus on three core priorities: making the UK a more attractive destination for business investment, strengthening links between universities and companies to accelerate innovation, and building coordinated responses to global change across the skills, research and innovation system.