The Technology Transfer of the Italian Public Research System: the Case of the National Research Council of Italy

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the technology transfer activities of Italy's CNR, comparing its patenting and licensing performance to MIT, revealing significant gaps in domestic impact and licensing efficiency.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of CNR and MIT's patenting and licensing, highlighting the gaps and potential causes in Italy's public research technology transfer.

Findings

CNR patents are 26% of MIT's for equal research expenses

CNR licenses are 26% of MIT's for equal patents

83% of CNR patents are not licensed domestically

Abstract

This paper deals with the technology transfer activities of the main public research institution in Italy, the Italian Research Council, CNR. A comparative analysis on patenting and licensing performances between CNR and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT has been carried out. Findings show that: research expenses being equal, CNR patents are 26% of MIT's; and, patents being equal, CNR licenses are also 26% of MIT's. This means that CNR impact on domestic competitiveness, in terms of patent licenses, is less than 7% of MIT's. Moreover, while 83% of CNR patents are never licensed to domestic industry, the Italian technology balance of payments shows a perennial deficit. The paper concludes with the identification of the possible causes that may explain such a gap.