The Trump administration has adopted the same NIH licensing guidelines introduced under Biden, according to IPWatchdog. The publication describes the move as innovation-killing and notes the timing is odd given simultaneous proposals to extract more revenue from academic research.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly said the government should seize 50% of academic royalties from licensing federally funded inventions. That idea, combined with retaining the guidelines, creates uncertainty for universities and researchers who rely on licensing income.
IPWatchdog argues the guidelines and the royalty proposal would undermine the Bayh-Dole system that allows universities to commercialize federally funded research. The article does not present counterarguments, so the analysis reflects that critical viewpoint.