What Determines University Patent Commercialization? Empirical Evidence on the Role of IPR Ownership

Abstract

This paper addresses the commercialization of academic patents, developed in both universities and public research organizations (PROs). We distinguish between university-owned and university-invented patents to analyze if and how patent ownership affects the probability of commercialization and, similarly, if the characteristics of national university intellectual property right (IPR) regimes correlate with it. We study three commercialization channels—sales, licensing and spin-off formation—appearing in a sample of 858 university and PRO patents filed with the European Patent Office between 2003 and 2005 across 22 countries. To analyze differences in commercialization outcomes, this study employs a multivariate probit model. The results suggest that PRO ownership is negatively associated with the likelihood of selling the patent and creating an academic spin-off; university ownership positively affects the patent's licensing uses. Finally, the institutional IPR regime has a negative effect on the probability of selling a patent.