The Bayh-Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act is a United States legislation of 1980, which, among other things, gave US universities intellectual property control of their inventions, even if the invention is the fruit of a government-funded research. The act, sponsored by two senators, Birch Bayh of Indiana and Robert Dole of Kansas, was enacted by the US Congress on December 12, 1980.
