The Trump administration is looking to collect revenue from university patents developed through federally funded research. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has indicated that the government wants to take a cut of the profits from these patents, arguing that taxpayers deserve a return on their investment.
Lutnick has been targeting major universities as part of this new policy direction. The administration has already sent letters to Harvard University demanding information about patents developed with federal funding. According to Lutnick, the University of California will receive a similar letter soon. He expects this to start with a few universities before becoming a broader deal.
