By Dr. Hong Hua
"How can you help the people around you?"
My mother's words were front of mind when, in the late 1990s, I moved from China to the United States as a postdoctoral research associate to continue my research in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology. I was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to develop novel AR displays.
In 2004, I became an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, where I now work as a professor of optical sciences. Collaborating with a neurologist, I developed a prototype of wearable glasses that track eye movements, enabling patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to communicate.
Eventually, I secured a patent. But the market for ALS applications is small, so I failed to find a partner to develop this technology into a medical device. However, this technology and my other federally funded inventions were licensed by a company for applications in non-medical fields. Royalties from the license agreements helped keep my laboratory afloat and provide seed funds for more innovations.
In 2012, a small company discovered my work and partnered with me to develop compact eyewear as a wearable, assistive technology that can help people with central vision loss to gain their eyesight back. Our glasses, released in 2017, have helped thousands of people -- including one wearer who was able to see her mother's face in detail for the first time.
Bringing my discovery to market was not fast, easy, or certain. And it wouldn't have been possible without the legal protections enabling private companies to collaborate with university researchers like me.
It's up to our leaders in Washington to ensure those protections remain in place so Americans can benefit from tomorrow's scientific and technological breakthroughs.
The collaboration between the private sector and academia originates in the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. This landmark legislation granted universities and other public institutions the right to retain patent ownership of inventions developed with federal funding, and license those patents to private companies for further research and development.
But a patent isn't enough. Inventors need investment and licensing agreements with entrepreneurial companies to bring their inventions to market. Bayh-Dole makes successful development a possibility, but it's no guarantee.
Obtaining a patent and acquiring a license can take more than five years and cost well over $30,000. That's where university tech transfer offices play an essential role. Securing intellectual property through Bayh-Dole is the first step in developing a new product that makes a real-world difference.
But universities must assume the costs of patenting and licensing the inventions, so that's why Bayh-Dole allows them to retain royalties. Universities can re-invest the licensing revenue in new research initiatives, continuing the cycle of invention.
Some in Washington have sought to disrupt this system and allow the federal government to effectively retroactively veto licensing agreements. That would create a chilling effect on partnerships between private firms and universities -- and slow technological progress to a crawl.
As the new administration and Congress takes office, lawmakers and policymakers should recommit themselves to preserving the Bayh-Dole Act as a font of innovation.
Dr. Hong Hua is the current Jean M. Bennett Optica Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences and professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. This Op-ed column originally ran in the Arizona Daily Star.
