Joseph Allen

Joe Allen has been involved in crafting successful policies widely copied around the world promoting public/private sector commercialization partnerships. He created the consulting firm Joseph Allen and Associates in 2008 to further these efforts.

Joe served as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee with former Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN). Allen was the key staffer securing passage of the Bayh-Dole Act opening up collaborations between research universities and U.S. industry. The Economist Technology Quarterlycalled this law “possibly the most inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past half century.”

In 1999, the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) awarded Allen the prestigious Bayh-Dole Award for this achievement. In 2010, AUTM presented Joe with the Driving Innovation Award “For His Tireless Work and Support as a Champion for the Bayh-Dole Act During the Past 30 Years.”

Upon leaving the Senate staff, Joe became Executive Director of Intellectual Property Owners, Inc., a trade association representing major R&D companies. He was involved in the creation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which helped restore confidence in the U.S. patent system after years of neglect.

Next, he served at the U.S. Department of Commerce as the Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization. He was instrumental in the passage of the Federal Technology Transfer Act allowing U.S. industry to perform cooperative R&D agreements (CRADAS) with federal laboratories. Allen’s office oversaw Executive branch implementation of technology transfer laws and related policy directives. He served as an intellectual property rights negotiator on major international agreements, including the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement.

From 1992 until 2004, Allen was with the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC), becoming President in 1997. Clients included NASA, the Department of Defense, EPA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Commerce. He testified at several Congressional hearings, and was involved in passage of the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000.

Between 2004 until 2007, Allen was the Vice President and General Manager of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium.

Allen testified before the South Africa parliament in 2008 as the lead witness on their version of the Bayh-Dole bill now enacted into law. Allen has written numerous articles on technology management for national publications, and now writes a monthly column for IP Watch Dog.