Federal research commercialization boosts US economy
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The Bayh-Dole Coalition reported that commercializing university and nonprofit research funded by the US federal government contributed as much as $577 billion to gross economic output between 2021 and 2025.
Before 1980, the US federal government owned the patents resulting from federally funded research, limiting incentives for universities to apply those inventions.
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities and small businesses to patent and commercialize these inventions, increasing the number of federally funded patents issued annually by over 70 times. From 1996 to 2025, technology transfer from this research generated around $3.3 trillion in economic output throughout the United States. By 2025, universities held approximately 60 percent of patents stemming from federally funded inventions, while the federal government held only 9 percent.
The report’s authors believe maintaining a strong commercialization system will continue to deliver economic benefits. The Coalition noted the figures are likely underestimates because they rely on self-reported data.
