Event

Thursday, October 9, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

Video Webinar

Event Summary

On October 9, 2025, from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET, the Bayh-Dole Coalition hosted a timely webinar examining a critical question: Does the government receive an ROI for academic inventions?

The discussion follows recent remarks by Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who proposed the federal government should take a substantial share of patent royalties from university inventions it helps fund. While it may sound appealing at first glance, the idea risks undermining the innovation pipeline that has led to thousands of life-saving products and powered U.S. competitiveness for 45 years under the Bayh-Dole Act.

Unknown to most, Congress considered a much more modest payback provision when passing Bayh-Dole in 1980. However, Congress ultimately removed the provision at the request of federal agencies, who concluded taxpayers would get a better return on their investment from maximizing the number of research breakthroughs that actually come to market.

Our program explored how the public benefits under the current system and how supporting university research — that then becomes real-world products that create companies, jobs, economic development, and more — remains one of the smartest policy decisions the United States has ever made.

Related Resources

• AURP — Economic Impact Report 2025
  • Press Release
  • Report
• AUTM — 2024 Technology Transfer Infographic
• BIO & AUTM — Economic Contributions of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996–2020
• Bayh-Dole Coalition — Survey: Government Royalty-Sharing Proposal for Academic Patents Threatens U.S. Innovation

Read the full transcript of the video webinar here.

Joseph P. Allen (Moderator)

Joe is the executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. As a professional staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee to Sen. Birch Bayh (D-IN), he played a key role in the successful passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and its subsequent amendments. He later served as the director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the Department of Commerce, which oversaw the implementation of Bayh-Dole and chaired the Interagency Committee on Technology Transfer.

Teri Willey

Teri joined the team at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation in November 2022, to launch, lead and manage the new National Bleeding Disorders Foundation Venture Fund, LLC known as Pathway to Cures (P2C). Teri has been in the business of commercializing early-stage research results for over 35 years and most recently as the founding managing director of IU Ventures’ Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund. Teri served as a senior executive for business development for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC, was the founding chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise Ltd in Cambridge England and a co-founder of ARCH development partners, an early-stage Midwest venture fund. Teri has been an advisor to policymakers, universities, and companies; a past President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), a Bye-Fellow of Christ’s College Cambridge in England, and an Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash.

Walter G. Copan

Walt is Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and 16th Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a position to which he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Dr. Copan is a distinguished leader with wide-ranging experience spanning large company, venture capital, entrepreneurial tech startup, U.S. government, non-profit, and other public sector settings. Among the many accolades he has received, Walt was recognized with the 2022 Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence in Government.

Brian Darmody

Brian Darmody is Chief Strategy Officer for the Association of University Research Parks (AURP), a global non profit representing research parks and innovation districts sponsored by universities, government labs, and regions, plus the firms planning and building these facilities, in 42 states and 12 countries. Previously he served at University of Maryland – College Park as Assistant to the President, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations, Director of State and Federal Relations, Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Development, and legal counsel. He serves on national and state boards, including Fraunhofer USA, and the Maryland Technology Corporation Venture Board.