[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 148 (Monday, November 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7410-H7411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAYH-DOLE ACT
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 328) expressing the sense of
the Congress regarding the successful and substantial contributions of
the amendments to the patent and trademark laws that were initially
enacted in 1960 by Public Law 96-517 (commonly referred to as the
``Bayh-Dole Act'') on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its
enactment.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 328
Whereas Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the United
States Constitution provides that Congress shall have Power
``to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
Discoveries'';
Whereas the United States Government is one of the largest
funders of research in the world, but that research does not
fully benefit American taxpayers unless it contributes new
products and processes to the marketplace, thereby creating
new companies and jobs, and solving societal problems;
Whereas the commercial development of discoveries and
inventions falls upon private sector entrepreneurs, often
requiring millions of dollars in development funding over
many years, and even then commercial success is uncertain at
best;
Whereas by enacting Public Law 96-517 (commonly referred to
as the ``Bayh-Dole Act'') in 1980, Congress determined that a
fundamental change was needed to implement a uniform Federal
patent policy, restoring the intended incentives of Article
I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution as
it relates to federally funded research;
Whereas before the enactment of that Act, few inventions
arising from the billions of taxpayer dollars granted each
year to American research universities, nonprofit
organizations, and Federal laboratories were being translated
into commercial products of benefit to the public and the
United States economy;
Whereas a critical factor in developing federally funded
inventions into commercial products is the continued
involvement of the inventor in the process, and Government
patent policies before the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act
chilled the intended incentives of the patent system in this
regard;
Whereas the ability to obtain a reliable patent license for
commercial development is needed to justify private sector
investments, and Government patent policies before the
enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act made negotiating and obtaining
such licenses difficult, if not impossible;
Whereas patent ownership of potentially important
inventions is crucial in the formation of many start-up
companies, which form vital parts of an innovation economy,
and ownership rights were discouraged by Government patent
policies before the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act;
Whereas in 1984 Congress built upon the firm foundation of
the Bayh-Dole Act by permitting, in Public Law 98-620,
nonprofit organizations and universities to grant licenses
during the entire patent term and also to provide uniform
treatment under the Bayh-Dole Act of inventions produced by
nonprofit organizations that operate Government-owned
laboratories;
Whereas the Bayh-Dole Act has provided incentives for
universities, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses
to effectively manage inventions arising from Federal support
as valuable resources on behalf of United States taxpayers;
Whereas the success of the Bayh-Dole Act became apparent
with the creation and dominance of the United States
biotechnology and information technology industries, that
remain largely dependent on university research;
Whereas the Bayh-Dole Act has been widely recognized as a
best practice and is now being adopted by other countries
(both developed and developing) around the world to better
integrate their own research universities into their
economies in order to be more competitive;
Whereas objective examples of how the Bayh-Dole Act has not
only benefitted the United States but has also created a
better world include the creation of over 150 new drugs,
vaccines, or in vitro devices, including the hepatitis B
vaccine, cisplatin, carboplatin and taxol anticancer
therapeutics, laser eye surgery devices, the Palmaz balloon
expandable stent, and many more; and
Whereas economic activity spurred on by the Bayh-Dole Act
include the formation of more than 6,500 new companies from
the inventions created under the Act, an estimated
contribution of $450,000,000,000 to United States gross
industrial output, and the creation of 280,000 new high
technology jobs between 1999 and 2007: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) it is the sense of the Congress that--
(A) the Bayh-Dole Act (Public Law 96-517), as amended by
Public Law 98-620, has made substantial contributions to the
advancement of scientific and technological knowledge,
fostered dramatic improvements in public health and safety,
strengthened the higher education system, led to the
development of new domestic industries and hundreds of
thousands of new private sector jobs, and benefitted the
economic and trade policies of the United States; and
(B) that Act remains critical to the future well being of
the United States;
(2) the Congress reaffirms both its support for this
landmark legislation and the critical role that innovation,
entrepreneurship, and job creation hold for the future of the
United States, and its commitment to the policies and
objectives of that Act; and
(3) the Congress shows its gratitude for the bipartisan
leadership shown by Senators Birch Bayh and Robert Dole and
Representatives Peter Rodino, Hamilton Fish, Robert
Kastenmeier, Tom Railsback, Don Fuqua, and former Chairman
and Ranking Minority members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, Edward Kennedy, and Strom Thurmond for securing
the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act, for strengthening it in
1984, and for providing unwavering support for the policies
underlying that Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes the 30th anniversary of the
Bayh-Dole Act, a landmark piece of legislation that reshaped the
landscape of technological innovation in the United States by
clarifying intellectual property rights in government-funded
inventions.
What that means is that, prior to this act, our country was stuck in
a form of economic malaise, and innovation was, frankly, stifled. The
stiff international competition we faced at the time wasn't just a
matter of Europe and Japan getting back on their feet. It was also a
matter of them, frankly, outpacing us in technological development.
We knew we had to better harness all our innovation capacity,
particularly the work being done at our research universities. At the
time, policies mandated Federal Government ownership of patent rights
for any research done with Federal funding. Since most university
research had some sort of Federal funding, the universities had no say,
and no stake, in the patent rights of their own research.
Then there were the rules in licensing what patents existed which
were considered cumbersome and discouraged use by the private sector.
The situation literally led to technologies being left on the shelf to
gather dust, and we were falling behind in this area.
This bill of 30 years ago also revolutionized the way patent rights
in university inventions were to be dealt with. The Bayh-Dole Act
allowed universities to own patents, license them out to the private
sector, and split royalties earned with professors and students who
worked on the invention.
With the barriers to obtaining patent licenses removed, private
investors could easily partner with federally funded research
institutions and begin
[[Page H7411]]
to develop groundbreaking innovations for commercial use.
This bill, this law, aligned the interests of universities and
faculty and the private sector and thereby ushered in an unprecedented
level of collaboration between these groups. It further channeled the
imagination of our best and brightest to help make a better future for
all of us.
So, in the last 30 years since Bayh-Dole, it has led to the creation
of over 150 new pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, including a
hepatitis B vaccine, cancer treatments, in vitro devices, the Palmaz
balloon expandable stent, and many others.
Estimates tell us that Bayh-Dole has added at least $450 billion to
the United States' gross industrial output and that between 1999 and
2007 it created probably more than 280,000 new high-tech jobs.
The Bayh-Dole Act has been recognized around the world as a best
practice and has served as a model for laws adopted by other Nations
hoping to replicate the success that we had in our own country in
building partnerships between federally funded researchers and private
investors.
The Economist magazine called the Bayh-Dole Act ``perhaps the most
inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past
half-century.''
{time} 1520
For those reasons, I urge that we celebrate the 30th anniversary
passage of this very important piece of legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
The purpose of H. Con. Res. 328 is to express the sense of Congress
regarding the successful and substantial contributions of the Bayh-Dole
Act on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its enactment. The Act
establishes the rules of the road governing patent rights when the
Federal Government and private entities participate in joint research
that produces patentable inventions. Article I, section 8, clause 8 of
the United States Constitution provides Congress with the authority
``to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries.''
The drafters of the Constitution, however, couldn't have predicted
that the Federal Government would one day become a catalyst for the
development of advanced technologies. Prior to Bayh-Dole, the Federal
Government permitted the private sector to commercialize less than 5
percent of the government's patent portfolio. As former Senator Robert
Dole stated in 2005, the government's track record on promoting
university-born technologies during the 1960s and 1970s was ``dismal.''
The failure to capitalize on this important research delayed
innovations that could have improved the quality of life for millions
of Americans. What was the government doing wrong before 1980? Simply
put, the government was focused on something else. At the time, at
least 26 distinct Federal agency policies controlled how the federally
funded research and development could be used.
Bayh-Dole fundamentally changed the government's patent policy by
replacing helter-skelter licensing practices with a single uniform
policy. This shift created the incentives that private industry,
including small businesses, nonprofits, and universities, needed to
risk their capital and develop patented inventions. Bayh-Dole has
created a culture of cooperation and collaboration among government,
university, and private-sector researchers. The act contributed to the
commercial development of new industries such as biotechnology and
nanotechnology.
In 2003, the President's Council of Advisers on Science and
Technology affirmed the importance of Bayh-Dole by reporting that it
dramatically improved the Nation's ability to move ideas from research
and development to the marketplace and into commerce. This same
organization determined that the system for transferring technology
from nonprofit institutions, which includes universities, hospitals and
government laboratories, to the private sector has worked very well.
H. Con. Res. 328 reaffirms Congress' commitment to the policies and
objectives of Bayh-Dole. This Act has sparked 30 years of enhanced
research and development within the United States, leading to dramatic
improvements in public health and safety, a strengthened higher
education system in the United States, and the development of new
domestic industries that have created tens of thousands of highly
skilled jobs for America's citizens. Mr. Speaker, Bayh-Dole illustrates
how the government and private industry can work together for the good
of the American people. I salute the authors of Bayh-Dole and reaffirm
my commitment to this Act.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CONYERS. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 328.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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