Category Archives: Freedom

Best practices in university invention management, 1

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Things get complicated that don’t have to be complicated when it comes to university ownership of inventions. Administrators make things complicated, then argue for lots of money to pay for the talent to navigate those complications, and then more money … Continue reading →

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The devils in the details: Bayh-Dole supports academic freedom, 2

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Part 1 of this article is here. By requiring the contractor to require “technical” employees to make a written agreement, (f)(2) does some fundamental things within the framework of definitions set up by Bayh-Dole. Watch the devils tumble out in … Continue reading →

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The devils in the details: Bayh-Dole supports academic freedom, 1

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Bayh-Dole supports the academic freedom of faculty inventors. University administrators refuse to comply. Here, we walk through the law, the implementing regulations, the various patent rights clauses to show the result. Fair warning to university administrators reading this piece. I … Continue reading →

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Optimism for a New Year

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

It’s a whole new year, rather than just December 32. In 2017, Research Enterprise published over 250 articles on various aspects of invention policy and innovation, with lots of attention on the Bayh-Dole Act and on universities that cannot seem … Continue reading →

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Thinking about projects, small and big–8

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Here’s the rub for “the work” that necessarily includes “commercialization.” Any license or assignment of an invention made in “the work” draws that licensee or assignee into “the work.” That licensee, to the extent that commercialization is a requirement of … Continue reading →

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Thinking about projects, small and big–7

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

What have we got to by musing on research projects at universities? First, that a sponsor may support a big project by providing support to a small project that is a component of that big project. The sponsor who does … Continue reading →

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The Rat in Bayh-Dole’s Rotten Pickle Barrel: 35 USC 202(c)(5)

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Most of the Bayh-Dole pundits out there in the university patent and license world have never understood Bayh-Dole. I’m not sure all that many have read the statute. Certainly if they did so, they read without comprehension. Take this recent … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving 2017

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

To all those who seek to discover, invent, collect, develop, create, author, realize, and do something with any of that–thank you for your efforts, your insights, your inspiration. For those who build administrative systems to support such work–thank you, too. … Continue reading →

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Continued Employment as Consideration

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Here is a nice article that worries whether continued employment is sufficient to create an enforceable obligation to assign inventions to an employer: “Is Continued Employment Enough to Uphold Invention Assignment Agreements?” The brief answer is, yes. Add the qualifications: … Continue reading →

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Drift as a city’s economic driver

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Some years ago, Jane Jacobs published a series of books that take up the issue of how cities contribute to regional and national economies. In particular, Jacobs argued that a particular kind of city behavior was crucial for a regional … Continue reading →

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