Biography

Joe Allen is a 30-year veteran of national efforts to foster 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 our research universities and U.S. industry. The Economist Technology Quarterly called 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 awarded Allen the prestigious Bayh-Dole Award for this achievement.

Subsequently, Allen became Executive Director of Intellectual Property Owners, Inc. where he was involved in the creation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

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 and the National Technology Transfer Competitiveness Act, allowing U.S. industry to perform joint R&D with federal laboratories. Allen's office oversaw the implementation of technology transfer laws and related executive policy directives. He served as an intellectual property rights negotiator on major international agreements, including the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement, bringing them into line with domestic technology transfer policies.

From 1992 until 2004, Allen was with the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC), becoming President in 1997. Under his leadership, the NTTC enjoyed steady growth, reaching a $20 million annual budget and 110 employees. Allen 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 Foundation. There he oversaw programs assisting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce in their technology transfer initiatives.

Allen co-authored Technology Transfer for Entrepreneurs: A Guide to Commercializing Federal Laboratory Innovations, published by Praeger Press. He has written numerous articles and spoken internationally on technology commercialization.

Joseph P. Allen
President, Joseph Allen and Associates

Papers

  Joe Allen's Introduction Part 1 - Documents associated with the bill's first introduction in September 1978.

  Joe Allen's Introduction Part 2 - Documents related to the reintroduction, by Senator Bayh, of the bill in the 96th Congress (1979-80).

Joe Allen's Introduction Part 4 - Documents related to the fight over amending of S. 414 and trying to get the bill passed before the adjourned.