ABSTRACT
In this chapter we present a summary of the history of the birth and growth of university technology transfer in the US which has provided the foundation for understanding the explosion of university research commercialisation occurring in the US today. In addition to exploring the economic impact of this phenomenon, we seek to identify the role of technology transfer in the academic environment in the knowledge-based economy of the twenty-first century. The principles that guided US universities in 2001 remain today and are influencing strongly the emergence of TLOs in Japan. Revisiting the point of commercialisation that occurs at universities, from where a good deal of inventions derive, will assist us in re-evaluating the value of IP.
