Historically, academic scientists disseminated basic research findings and inventions through free and open channels such as informal sharing, journal publications, or professional conference presentations. In many instances, those basic discoveries had little immediate commercial value for the author to appropriate privately, but proved highly useful for other researchers to build upon. The reward structure of academic science reinforced that practice, awarding prestige and tenure on the basis of discoveries published in journals and provided openly to the scientific community. The patenting of intellectual property (IP) generated by research—though pursued by academics in some fields—primarily was reserved for discoveries made in the commercial sector, which could be developed into marketable products and bring potential monetary rewards to their inventors.

In the United States, the past two decades have …