Academic inventors, allocation of patent rights and knowledge diffusion: Subnetwork structures in university-owned and university-invented patents in two Italian universities

The role of academics in patenting activity is not limited to patents owned by universities (university-owned patents) as academics often contribute to inventions patented by other organizations (university-invented patents). Moreover, it has been shown that academics play central roles inside the patenting network and that appropriability rules can interfere with the pattern of knowledge diffusion. In this study, we use social network analysis to analyze university-owned and university-invented patents in two Italian universities. We investigate the quality of the ties and the reasons why academics patent with their universities or with external organizations. We identify three subnetwork typologies. Two out of three subnetworks well exemplify the conditions for university ownership and for professor privilege, but the most complex structure, stemming from academic gatekeepers, need more flexible property attribution arrangements. In this contexts, aggressive policies toward university ownership can damage the networks with the highest grade of science-industry cross-fertilisation.