Underappreciated government research support in patents

Abstract

Although federally funded research plays a crucial role in driving innovation (1, 2), its contribution is underestimated when the US government’s research support is not properly acknowledged in patents from an evaluation perspective. Moreover, because the US government is entitled to exercise patents arising from its research support for public safety or public health when the US government’s involvement in patents is properly acknowledged, failure to document its research support in patents limits potential social benefits that a patented invention can realize through the US government’s use. Analyzing about 84,000 US patent-paper pairs (PPPs), of the PPPs having patents on research outcomes originating from federal support, 28% did not acknowledge the US government’s research support in the patents. Further findings imply that the private stake in the use of the research outcomes is negatively associated with the likelihood of acknowledging US government research support in patents.