<p>Okay so you graduate and you’re looking for a job. What is the best area to be in if you want to control your own research? For instance, if you working for a private company (merck jnj or something like that) the company gets anything that you develop right? So that cool prosthetic arm is the company’s to profit off of, not yours. I imagine it would be simillar in the government. Is academia/being a proffessor the only area where you would retain control over whatever devices/medicines/techniques etc etc you develop? Are there other options?</p>
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<p>That’s going to depend on which university you work at because they all have different policies. Very few (if any) universities give you free rein over IP developed while using their resources.</p>
<p>So what area would I have the most control? I would like to be completely on my own but that isn’t very realistic since you need money and equipment which I won’t have.</p>
<p>There’s no place in its right mind that would let you use their resources and then give you free rein on anything you develop. I suppose the best way to go about it would be to find a university with a good IP policy and get funding through an organization that doesn’t claim rights to IP developed with their money. NSF/NIH funding would fit this, for example.</p>
<p>The policies, like I said, vary from university to university. Some are truly draconian and stunt innovation more than anything. Stanford would probably be the best example of a university with good practices, however.</p>