The U.S. Department of Commerce opened a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s patents tied to federally funded research and signaled it may examine exercising Bayh‑Dole ‘march‑in’ rights. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pressed Harvard President Alan Garber to demonstrate compliance with obligations tied to federal awards, prompting university and legal experts to warn of a potentially unprecedented federal intervention in university licensing. The Bayh‑Dole Act allows recipients of federal research funds to retain patents but includes a rarely invoked march‑in provision permitting the government to compel licensing if inventions aren’t made available to the public or to address health and safety needs. Lawyers said no federal agency has ever executed march‑in rights, and doing so would set a new precedent affecting technology transfer, commercialization incentives and university‑industry partnerships. March‑in provision clarification: under Bayh‑Dole, march‑in permits the government to require licensing of federally supported inventions when commercialization is insufficient or public needs are unmet.