Seeking the broadest possible dissemination of his technology, Gadgil planned to release the blueprint online, allowing anyone to copy it for free. A consultation with his institution’s licensing team changed his mind.
Skeptics of commercialization worry that intellectual property protection and technology licensing prioritize profit over the public good, overly leaning on the private sector to disseminate innovations. This argument has come into the spotlight through a recent national conversation about the Bayh-Dole Act, which allows publicly funded academic institutions to retain patent rights and encourages them to pursue commercialization of discoveries. Proponents argue that the U.S. patenting system is responsible for massive growth in U.S. competitiveness and is necessary for continued innovation because private sector investment is essential to product development and distribution.
For academics considering commercialization, the story of UV Waterworks, an invention created by Ashok Gadgil, PhD at the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is a compelling case study in how commercialization can drive innovation and make life-saving technologies accessible to millions.
Background: UV Waterworks was developed by Gadgil to address a critical public health issue, unsafe drinking water in developing countries. Roughly the size of a microwave, the device sanitizes water using UV light to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, and molds. It can purify approximately four gallons of water per minute and provide a year’s worth of potable drinking water for only seven cents per person. As of 2019, Gadgil’s technology is used by Water Health International Inc. and provides clean and inexpensive drinking water to between 26 and 29 million people throughout India and Africa.
Myth 1: Open-Sourcing Ideas Best Guarantees Their Uptake
While open-sourcing solutions might intuitively seem the best way to maximize the impact of ideas, having a single product developer can sometimes better guarantee the idea is translated into a product. Gadgil’s goal was to make UV Waterworks as widely available as possible to save lives. While his first instinct was to release the blueprints online for anyone to freely access, Gadgil realized that the people who needed it most lacked the resources to manufacture and distribute the technology. Additionally, if he published publicly, there would be no one to shoulder the costs or risks, and no investor would fund their technology without a patent and an exclusive license. With the advice of licensing staff at Berkeley Lab, Gadgil instead commercialized UV Waterworks which enabled its widespread distribution, saving countless lives.
Myth 2: Patents and Exclusive Licenses Hinder Access
Patents and exclusive licenses were crucial for UV Waterworks as they provided the necessary incentives for companies to invest in production and distribution. The initial patent, filed by the University of California, led to an exclusive license with WaterHealth International. This process enabled Gadgil to secure funding and massively scale up production. Since the initial filing, UV Waterworks has benefited an estimated 100 million people in dozens of countries across four continents. Without these protections provided by the Bayh-Dole Act, attracting investors and ensuring the technology reached those in need would have been significantly more challenging.
Myth 3: Commercialization is Primarily a Profit-Seeking Activity Reality
While university commercialization can generate revenue for inventors and universities, the primary motive of university technology transfer is impact. An August 2022 COGR (Council on Governmental Relations) report, Technology Transfer in U.S. Research Universities: Dispelling Common Myths, reveals that most university technology licensing offices do not generate enough revenue to cover operating expenses. Despite this, technology transfer is an integral part of a university’s public service mission, whereby IP protection, licensing, and startup formation can ensure the momentum, investment, and development expertise to get the technology adopted in society. In the case of UV Waterworks, it’s unlikely that the device could have reached millions of people without a commercial strategy. Technology teams use a variety of licensing strategies and balance financial terms to optimize a technology’s future. In some cases, universities can share in the commercial success of a licensed technology and then reinvest in a virtuous cycle of innovation.
Conclusion
UV Waterworks’ story highlights the positive impact of commercialization. By providing the necessary framework for investment and distribution, commercialization can help bring innovative solutions to global challenges, benefiting the world and its people. Since the Bayh-Dole Act was passed in 1980, the law has facilitated nearly half a million invention disclosures; led to the founding of more than 17,000 startups; supported 6.5 million jobs, and contributed $1 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product, according to AUTM, an organization that tracks public-private tech transfer.
While commercialization is not the best path for every inventor/project, JHTV welcomes conversations with anyone seeking to move discovery into practice so that we can evaluate your project and assess our ability to help you achieve your goals. Contact us to learn more.