We 've talked in the past about the whole concept of tech offices at universities. That was an idea that was popular a few decades back, that universities, with all its researchers could create a Profit Center through licensing or sale of the patents that come out of university research. The reality is that this was a fiasco. Most universities (such as many patent holders who aren 't really building products on the market) to be fully appreciated their patents, so that it completely uneconomical for all, the patent license. In the end, this has the vast majority of tech transfer offices made Cost centers instead of profit centers. They asked many people, which is expensive, and they haven 't see much of a return on it.

Worse still, this focus on Block knowledge and research from universities has been disastrous on actual advancement and the spreading of knowledge, which many of these universities claim is a key goal. Professors are told not to share results or data or plans with professors at other universities, for fear of "losing out" on a patent. The whole academic culture of sharing and building on each others' knowledge is held back tremendously. It's a huge shame.

Fortunately, some universities are realizing this and start to slide again. Last year, we have determined that the University of Glasgow freed most of his "intellectual property" for all who might use it. And now, hrusha warns us the news that the University of Copenhagen (known as KU) offers free licenses for those who want a "credible 'plan for bringing a product to market within 3 years can present.

It 's not a completely open and free system, but it' s definitely better than most. The promotion of commercialization will hopefully contribute to the practical impact of research on the market too quickly. I 'm not so sure how it is, what and what not to determine a "credible plan," so hopefully they err on the side of granting such licenses whenever possible. Hopefully more and more universities are beginning to realize that blocking of the research and the expectation of getting paid for it, is a dead end, which goes against the basic principles of most universities.

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