TY  - JOUR
AU  - Thursby,Jerry G.
AU  - Thursby,Marie C.
TI  - Are Faculty Critical? Their Role in University-Industry Licensing
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9991
PY  - 2003
Y2  - September 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9991
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9991.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jerry Thursby
Georgia Institute of Technology
E-Mail: jerry.thursby@mgt.gatech.edu

Marie C. Thursby
College of Management
Georgia Institute of Technology
800 West Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30308-1149
Tel: 404/894-6249
Fax: 404/385-4894
E-Mail: marie.thursby@mgt.gatech.edu
AB  - Understanding the nature of the involvement of faculty in university licensing is im-portant for understanding how technology is transferred through licensing as well as more controversial issues, such as the need for university licensing. Using data from a survey of firms that actively license-in from universities we explore the importance of faculty in the licensing and development of inventions, as well as how and why they are used and how the use of faculty relates to characteristics of firms. In particular we find that the use of faculty through sponsored research in lieu of a license is closely related to the amount of basic research conducted by firms whereas the use of faculty within the terms of a license is related to the prevalence of personal contacts between industry R&D researchers and university faculty.
ER  -