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Author Archives: Gerald Barnett
Palmer's 1962 Guide to University Patent Policies
Archie Palmer has a helpful discussion on the treatment of invention ownership in the 147 universities with formalized patent policies, as of 1962. Palmer’s work is important, because for thirty years, Palmer was Archie Appleseed of university patent policies. He … Continue reading
Posted in History, Policy
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Shop use as soulcraft
Here is the opening sentence to Archie Palmer’s 1962 examination of university patent policies: Research, whether conducted in the library, the laboratory or the shop, is an essential and integral element of an effective educational program. This sentence caught my … Continue reading
Posted in 3D Printing, Policy
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Present Assignment Shakedown
That’s a nice invention ya got there, Prof. Pity if something were to happen to it. Using a present assignment would not have saved Stanford’s position in Stanford v Roche. There are too many other circumstances that work against Stanford. … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, Policy, Present Assignment, Stanford v Roche, Technology Transfer
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Why is the 1995 NIH "20-20" Guide Still Up?
At the University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property web site we find this NIH Guide, the 20 Questions About Extramural Invention Reporting: The Bayh-Dole Act encourages researchers to patent and market their inventions by guaranteeing patent rights. [No, wait–we find the … Continue reading
Expenses (including payments to inventors)
Stanford’s claim on a quarter billion dollars in royalties in Stanford v Roche turned on the little word “of” in the construction “of a contractor” as part of the definition of subject invention. “Of” it turns out, has its ordinary … Continue reading
Posted in Agreements, Bayh-Dole, Policy
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Restoring Bayh-Dole's Fundamental Bargain
Bayh-Dole asks inventors in faculty-led, government supported research to choose an invention management agent. If the inventors don’t choose, then the government gets to choose. Unlike practice in industry, university faculty had a range of options available to them when … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Policy, Technology Transfer
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The Distribution of the SPRC and the Government's Interest in Inventions
The (f)(2) provision in the standard patent rights clause authorized by Bayh-Dole makes everything happen. It is the key to understanding how agency procurement of patent rights works. It gets at how a federal agency, through a funding agreement, by … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, Policy, Present Assignment
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How (f)(2) saves Bayh-Dole, the "worst bill I've seen in my life"
At the end of the majority decision in Stanford v Roche, the Supreme Court pauses to chide the universities that have come whining to it for federal power to strip inventors of their rights, all for, apparently, administrative convenience: Though … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Present Assignment, Stanford v Roche, Technology Transfer
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The pernicious effect of expansive university claims on intellectual property
Here is a definition of “Intellectual Property” from a university tech transfer office web site: “Intellectual property” encompasses all forms of creativity, such as, inventions, software, discoveries, creative or artistic works, know-how, processes and unique materials. For example, intellectual property … Continue reading
Why not just say, "We own your inventions to try to make money"?
I have been out collecting stuff in the wild. By the “wild” I mean at university technology transfer office web sites. Bluck. What a slog! It’s a dirty, nasty bit of work, that is, in the mud and detrius of … Continue reading