This article develops a conceptual framework to explain the economic rationale underpinning the choice of different modes of governance of formal university--industry interactions: personal contractual interactions, where the contract regulating the collaboration involves a firm and an...

The formal use of such intellectual property rights (IPR) as patents and registered copyright by universities has increased steadily in the last two decades. Mainstream arguments, embedded in economic theory and policy, advocating the use of IPR to protect academic research results are based on...