Joesph P. Allen

Joe Allen served on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) securing passage of the Bayh-Dole Act which fostered R&D partnerships between universities and U.S. industry. The Economist Technology Quarterly called this law “possibly the most inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past half century.” On leaving the Senate staff, Joe was Executive Director of Intellectual Property Owners, Inc. (IPO) where he worked to create the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit before going to the U.S. Department of Commerce where he became the Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization. He was instrumental in the passage of major laws allowing U.S. industry to perform joint R&D with federal laboratories. Allen’s office oversaw Executive branch implementation of the Bayh-Dole and Federal Technology Transfer Acts and related presidential policy directives. He helped negotiate intellectual property rights provisions for major international science and technology agreements.

Joe became President of the National Technology Transfer Center established by Congress to promote industry/federal laboratory R&D partnerships. In 2008 he founded Allen and Associates a consulting firm specializing in technology management/IP issues. Joe was the lead witness before the South African parliament on their Bayh-Dole law and consulted with the Republic of Kazakhstan to develop its technology transfer laws. In 2013 he co-chaired the White House Lab to Market Summit. The Association of University Technology Managers presented Joe with the Driving Innovation Award “For His Tireless Work and Support as a Champion for the Bayh-Dole Act during the Past 30 Years” and the Bayh-Dole Award, its highest honor. He also writes a monthly column for IP Watchdog on technology management issues. Joe currently leads the Bayh-Dole Coalition, a broad-based organization promoting and protecting that landmark law.