REVIEW OF THE LEGAL SCHEME AND PRACTICE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN TAIWAN

To follow the experience of the United States, Taiwan mimics the system of the Bayh-Dole Act and passed the Fundamental Science and Technology Act in 1999; from then this Act has been implemented for around 12 years. As a result, this Law not only generates valuable patents to promote commercial development, but also saves the additional cost on the investment of technology transfer for the government. Ever since the passage of this Act, it has been generally recognized to have positive effects on the society as a whole. This article reviews the practice and resulting effects of the Fundamental Science and Technology Act, compared with performance of other countries, and furthermore propose several suggestions to the current status of the practical implementation to maximize the benefits and to minimize the flaws of the Fundamental Science and Technology Act. The key policy recommendations include: eliminating non-exclusive license preference, eliminating license income contribution to funding agencies, detailing statutory instructions and regulations regarding march-in right, and preventing from conflicts of interest.