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 Technology Transfer Aids Government Introduction by Gerard Eldering
So how does MITRE ensure that the technology we develop is practical and that it gets into the hands of our sponsors and other customers in the form of solutions that are available, affordable, and supportable? MITRE ensures the impact of its innovations as many other not-for-profit research organizations, universities, and federally funded laboratories do—through several different modes of technology transfer. Technology transfer gets government-funded technology into the hands of commercial companies and other organizations that can use it to benefit our sponsors, the public, and the economy. Industry began to see more opportunities to license technology from not-for-profit organizations after the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. The legislation provided incentives for universities, teaching hospitals, and companies such as MITRE to transfer their technological innovations and for commercial companies to invest in those innovations. That act gave not-for-profit organizations the right to retain title to their intellectual property and to market inventions they made in whole or in part with government funds, with the government retaining broad rights to use that intellectual property and those inventions for its own purposes. The Bayh-Dole legislation spurred not-for-profits to apply for more patents and, according to the Association of University Technology Managers, “has helped to spawn new businesses, create industries, and open new markets … and has led to new products and services that improve our quality of life.” One way the transfer of technology helps the government is by making products more available and affordable. For example, in the past government agencies used a lot of custom-developed computer systems, which were expensive to maintain and upgrade. Today, the trend is to use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products where possible because they are less expensive and easier to evolve. When a company such as MITRE transfers a technology it developed for one of its sponsors to industry, that technology will come back to the government as a COTS product. The maker of the product, rather than the government, is then responsible for upgrades and evolution. In this Edge Perspectives, we share our experiences with many of the issues and complexities that surround this critical exchange process. What has worked and what hasn’t? What constitutes successful technology transfer? How can the lessons we have learned benefit our sponsors? Each of the main articles focuses on a major mode of technology transfer: influencing industry standards, direct licensing, Open Source release of software, and government-directed transfers. The case studies highlight some of MITRE’s most significant transfer successes—High-Level Architecture, the User Request Evaluation Tool, and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures—and show the time and effort it took (not to mention blood, sweat, and tears) to make them happen. |
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The
MITRE Corporation, in operating its federally funded research and development
centers under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense, the Federal
Aviation Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, and in accordance
with its articles of incorporation, supports its customers in the federal
government by developing technologies that address issues of critical
national importance. It does not manufacture products or provide services
routinely available from industrial contractors, but instead develops
technology in the form of concepts and prototypes.