A Study on the Subjects and Network of Technology Transfer: Evidence from Chinese Universities Patent Rights Transfer

The patent rights transfer has increasingly become an important means to measure the ability of technology transfer of universities, but a whole recognition on the transfer of patent rights in academia is still scarce, especially about the subjects involved in these activities and the networks among different regions. Based on the patent rights transfer of granted invention between 2007 and 2015, this study attempts to reveal the situation of technology transfer of universities from transferors, transferees and the focal patents, as well as the network characteristics of technology transfer at the provincial level through combining statistics and social network analysis. Our findings indicate that, firstly, the number of transfer patents of universities has been increased year by year, but the percentage is still low. Secondly, the breadth and depth of technology transfer of universities are constrained. Thirdly, most of patents are transferred into enterprises. Finally, the characteristics of patent rights transfer in provinces demonstrates that the spatial and network distributions gradually spread from central regions to edge regions. Among provinces, the coastal developed regions such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong play the role of central hub in technology transfer network, and they also play an important role in information integration.