Overview

• In an Axios interview, Howard Lutnick said the government should claim up to 50% of income from patents arising from federally funded university research.
• Commerce has demanded a comprehensive list of federally tied patents from Harvard and plans a similar inquiry to the University of California system.
• Lutnick cast the push as a follow-on to recent federal deals with industry, including about a 10% stake in Intel and a share of Nvidia’s China chip revenue.
• The idea challenges the Bayh-Dole framework that lets universities retain patent rights, raising unresolved legal and policy questions.
• Universities and media figures voiced immediate objections, with the Association of American Universities warning of damage to tech transfer and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough labeling the plan “socialism.”