Typically, if it is in collaboration with private sector (i.e. a company is providing the funding), said company will retain the intellectual property produced by the research. If it is government funds, university (itself a government organization) will have partial ownership of the intellectual property. So the government pays for research, the researcher does research. The researcher and the government (via university) own the fruits of the research together.

It is also notable that in Canada (almost?) all large research universities are public institutions: University of Toronto, McGill, Queen's, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, etc. I imagine the calculus would have been different if the university was itself a private corporation.

Yes, this is ridiculous especially considering that a patent gives the holder a monopoly, stifling further innovation, which is exactly the opposite of the purpose of academia.

[deleted]

Really?

Some professors have “hard money” jobs where the university covers most/all of their salary; startup packages that are meant to help you get a grant are pretty common, as are fellowships or TAships for students.

However, I don’t think most universities cover much of the actual research expenses.

As for the patent, most places offer a split with the inventor, and may not patent everything; they have a right of first refusal though.

If the university is publicly funded, then it is the public who actually paid for the research.