Political Quotes

“I rise today to support the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 1999. Technology transfer is a crucial link in the process that transforms research results into commercially viable products. The federal government's involvement in technology transfer arises naturally from its desire to encourage usage and commercialization of innovations resulting from federally-funded research. However, it is through further development, refinement, and marketing by the private sector that research results become diffused throughout the economy and generate growth. The private sector's active and timely participation in this process must be strongly encouraged if our competitiveness is to be enhanced. Patents and licensing rights play key roles in the technology transfer process in that they provide strong economic incentives to industry. Studies have shown that research funding accounts for only 25 percent of the costs associated with bringing a new product to market. Increasingly, patent ownership is used as a means to recoup the investment through the incoming royalty stream. In addition, actual experience and studies concluded that if companies do not control the results of their investments, they are less likely to engage in related research and development.”