The 25th anniversary is a time for couples to ponder what they’ve gotten out of their relationship. For universities, after 25 years under the Bayh-Dole Act, it’s a similar time for reflection.

There’s no doubt that the law, which allowed universities to retain ownership of new inventions discovered through government-funded research, has done wonders for both higher education and society. The question is, what have these wonders cost?

In the last 25 years, the incentives created by the act have driven new innovation, from the birth of Google to new life-saving medical technologies.

But the resulting linkages, which have tied publicly funded universities to the vagaries of market demand, have also changed the missions of these institutions. Previously the jargon of the corporate world, “proprietary technology” royalties and patent-infringement lawsuits are now at the heart of any respected research campus. Once established to carry out basic research and disseminate their findings to the world, universities have become more like big businesses.

UCSD is a case in point. The act birthed a high tech boom, which in turn spurred UCSD’s growth over the last three decades. In a world without Bayh-Dole, the university would surely lack its signature longing for research grants, and teaching could be paramount. But it would also likely be far smaller, lacking both its top-notch faculty and its world renown.

Universities surely treasure the billions of dollars and millions of patents this marriage has brought them. But should they have asked for a more meaningful relationship?