The esteemed Mike Waring, AUTM’s Advocacy and Alliances Coordinator, is back to continue our conversation about national advocacy and federal government relations. Last week, Mike shared strategies for state and local tech transfer. 

Advocacy is ultimately about relationships. Your campus federal relations team is the one that creates the relationship between your campus and Congress, so it's crucial to have a good relationship with them. You want them to know who you are and what your issues are. You also want to be a specific resource to help make your case in Washington. 

Mike highlights some of the important issues that he and AUTM have been working on, including a NIST request for information about changes in march-in rights. The intention may be to lower drug prices, but it could create problems and tie up innovation.

The PREVAIL Act is a step in the right direction for helping patent holders. There’s also a Section 174 tax problem that AUTM and a small-business coalition are working on to get fixed. Additionally, there's a bill for a study by the GAO to inform Congress about what needs to be addressed.

We discuss strategies for advocating with industry partners on broader concerns, along with educating others and showcasing your research. It all comes back to relationships and working with people in your state to broaden your efforts.

In This Episode:

[01:46] Engaging with federal agencies begins with having a really good relationship with your federal relations team on campus.

[02:47] The federal relations team has a huge list of issues including research funding, oversight, tax law, and more. Having a strong relationship with them will help get your issues addressed.

[04:34] Strategies to use the federal relations team to advance your agenda. Tap into their expertise and be a resource that can be used to make the case to Washington.

[06:26] Mike shares resources to stay informed including being an AUTM member, IP Watchdog and the Bayh-Dole Coalition. Associations like the AAU and APLU are also helpful. 

[09:08] How AUTM was involved with legislation that helped the National Science Foundation provide direct grants to tech transfer offices from the federal government.

[11:25] We learn about grant programs and the importance of internal communication in order to participate. 

[12:06] Mike talks about the December 8th, 2023 NIST request for information regarding potential changes in the administration of march-in rights. 

[12:51] The administration thinks this would lower drug prices, but it would affect every invention and tie-up innovation. 

[13:31] AUTM and the organizations they work with are going to comment along with individual universities. The interpretation of the law should not be changed. 

[14:44] The PREVAIL Act is endorsed by AUTM. Senator Chris Coons and Senator Thom Tillis on the committee of IP issues are working with us to try and fix this problem. 

[16:16] If your university has a senator on the Judiciary Committee, urge them to vote yes when this bill comes up.

[16:35] There's also a large small-business coalition urging congress to fix the section 174 tax problem.  

[17:24] There's also a bill that will tell the government accountability office to do a study on how the federal government oversees the tech transfer business.

[18:00] We need to get GAO to tell congress which problems need to be fixed. The goal is to make tech-transfer work better with the federal government. 

[19:19] Congress loves to see the government and industry work together. Private industry partners make sense with congress. 

[25:11] Coordinate with federal relations people when you have events on campus that can showcase your work. 

[26:10] Beware of what's happening and have the facts and figures when it's time for your school to become an advocate.

Resources: 

Mike Waring 

Mike Waring LinkedIn

IPWatchdog

Bayh-Dole Coalition

Association of American Universities

Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities

National Science Foundation

Accelerating Research Translation (ART)

NIST

PREVAIL Act