By Dan Powers
Federal policy changes threaten intellectual property protections that fuel research and economic growth
Colorado’s emergence as a technological powerhouse reached new heights last year when the state received a $90 million CHIPS and Science Act award—federal funding that promises to bring millions more to our local semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. This was a smart investment in a model that works: collaboration between universities, federal labs, startups, and industry partners to drive innovation.
A critical element of that model is how intellectual property (IP) rights are shared among collaborators. This structure incentivizes participation, investment, and ultimately, results.
That’s why a recent move by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is so troubling. In December, DOE announced a new policy affecting nuclear technologies that benefit from federal funding: such technologies must be made “freely available to the public with few or no intellectual property restrictions.” Though currently limited to nuclear, this approach could spread—and it threatens to unravel a system that has supported American innovation for over four decades.
The framework under attack stems from the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities and research institutions to own and license patents stemming from federally funded work. This alignment of interests has helped move countless discoveries from the lab to the marketplace.
Undoing that system would be a mistake.
We are already seeing concerning trends: from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) proposed “march-in” rights to new IP licensing options floated by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the direction appears to be a gradual dismantling of protections that fuel innovation. These changes may seem subtle, but their impact could be deeply felt—especially in Colorado, where public-private research partnerships are a core driver of economic and scientific advancement.
Without reliable patent rights, private investment dries up. For example, last year venture funding in the Denver-Boulder corridor reached $5.5 billion—more than double what it was in 2020. That growth is made possible because companies can count on securing IP that protects their investments.
The benefits go well beyond economic growth. When COVID-19 struck, Colorado State University’s Infectious Disease Research Center developed SolaVAX, a promising vaccine platform that attracted $3.1 million from the National Institutes of Health. At NIST in Boulder, researchers in quantum computing are racing to stay ahead of global competitors like China—work made possible by policies that reward innovation and protect outcomes.
Now is not the time to retreat from a system that works. Policymakers must reaffirm their support for Bayh-Dole and avoid adopting frameworks that discourage the very investment and risk-taking that fuel scientific breakthroughs.
If we want to lead in clean energy, quantum computing, national defense, and other critical sectors, we must continue to support the research institutions and inventors at the forefront—while ensuring their discoveries can reach the public through strong, secure IP rights.
About the Author
Dan Powers is the executive director of CO-LABS, a nonprofit, nonpartisan consortium of federally funded scientific laboratories, research universities and colleges, business leaders, and economic development experts. This piece originally ran in The Colorado Sun.