Influential Factors of the Commercialization of Academic Patents: The Taiwan Experience

Universities are sources of knowledge creation. They play the role of conducting basic research, and the research results lay a foundation for subsequent technology developments and commercialization. Compared to foreign top universities, Taiwanese universities have a weak capability to convert research results into commercial products, and they yield a lower value after cooperating with enterprises. Patents are an important output of research results, so this study attempts to find the influential factors for the commercialization of academic patents. This study investigated the centers for technology licensing and patenting in Taiwan universities and used the results from expert interviews and a literature review to derive five major influential dimensions: policy and environment, the market, academic organizations, inventors, intellectual property, and technology. This study used the analytical hierarchy process to derive the importance of the dimensions and evaluation criteria. The results show that the market is the most influential factor for commercialization of patents. The results indicated that different cognitions exist between the industry and academic institutions in Taiwan. Finally, this study proposed suggestions for universities in Taiwan to help them make strategies for patent commercialization. Universities that implement patent commercialization can refer to these suggestions.