Author Archives: Gerald Barnett

Seven Ways Universities Commonly Fail to Comply with Bayh-Dole

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

University patent administrators and patent policies make a fetish out of compliance with Bayh-Dole. What’s funny is how this fetish is about selective compliance–compliance that advances the power and freedom from accountability for administrators, at the expense of faculty and … Continue reading →

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Wisconsin continues to defy the US Supreme Court, five years on

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Here is an excerpt from the University of Wisconsin’s current patent policy regarding the Bayh-Dole Act, under the heading “Federal Agreements”: In order to expand public use of inventions and in recognition of the need for establishing government-wide policies for the … Continue reading →

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The tick bites deeper into the neck

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

I know, most of you don’t have time to work through 50 pages of close reading of a university patent policy, with all its levels and inconsistencies and misrepresentations and foolishnesses. Here’s a summary: FSU’s patent policy violates Florida state … Continue reading →

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Florida State’s garbled mess of patent guidance

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

[Updated with new accounts of garbledness and bad juju. This policy just keeps giving.] Florida State University’s “Office of Commercialization” starts a guidance web site off with an enumeration of points about intellectual property. Here’s the first point: Employee Guideline: … Continue reading →

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Stanford v Roche was not about how to make Bayh-Dole into a vesting statute

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

The Stanford v Roche decision was not at all about the proper technical steps to make Bayh-Dole into a vesting statute. Even the Court’s minority opinion–what the lawyer-krakkens fixated on–was a musing on whether there should be any difference in the equitable ownership of an … Continue reading →

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11 rationalizations regarding university compulsory patent ownership

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Given that university patent administrators don’t write about the reasons why a comprehensive, compulsory invention assignment policy is such a good thing, especially when coupled with a monopoly-seeking exclusive licensing program, I will identify some possible arguments in favor of … Continue reading →

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Listing Our Way to a Uniform Compulsory University Patent Policy

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

I have yet to see a cogent argument for comprehensive, compulsory invention assignment policies at universities. There was a time, years ago now, when most universities had no patent policy at all. Time goes by, and Archie Palmer rallies universities … Continue reading →

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Comply with commitments under federal regulations

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Restoring voluntary assignment for university inventors is the first step in reconditioning university invention management–and putting that management on a road of development consistent with university mores and roles. Voluntary assignment can be accomplished a number of ways. I will … Continue reading →

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The NSF recommends bureaukleptic compliance

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

Here’s interesting guidance in a footnote to the current NSF statement of terms and conditions for grants to universities: Footnote 2 offers a “reminder” that universities should adopt a present assignment in “employee assignment agreements.” The idea is that somehow … Continue reading →

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New Mis-Guidance on Bayh-Dole for Universities

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Gerald Barnett

There’s a very nice guide on the internet to managing federal grants, “A Guide to Managing Federal Grants for Colleges and Universities [now behind a paywall, apparently].” The Guide is published by Atlantic Information Services and looks like it was published … Continue reading →

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