• In the USA, the passage of the Bayh–Dole Act in the early 1980s provided the basis for public sector IP protection and technology transfer practices at universities.

• Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) facilitate institutional R&D.

• TTOs are often referred to as bridging the gap between the university and industry.

• TTOS create awareness and educate scientists in how to handle new inventions and discoveries.

• TTOs help to develop and enforce institutional policies dealing with inventions and discoveries. The office also ensures that the contractual requirements of funded projects are met.

• TTOs review inventions and determine their patentability and commercial potential.

• TTOs develop commercial potential of IPs through licensing, thereby generating revenues.

• TTOs maintain databases of all new technologies with commercial potential for consideration by potential commercial partners.

• TTOs, through links with venture capital firms, can help to establish new start-up companies using its own technologies by putting inventors, investors, attorneys and business managers together.

• Because society supports many public institutions indirectly through the payment of state and federal taxes, sharing the benefits of new technologies is a service of the TTO office.