Author Archives: Gerald Barnett

The Root of the Problem

In the current Businessweek there’s a short interview by Tom Keen with John Taft about the idea of stewardship in the banking industry.  The parallels with university IP are striking: [T]he leaders of our financial institutions lost touch with their … Continue reading

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IP policy architectures, simpler than possible

One of the challenges of dealing with university technology transfer is that many of the descriptions of what is to be accomplished are cast in the singular, without context.  Policies are then built around these singularities, and anything multiple is … Continue reading

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Mapping Invention Portfolio Expectations

What is the shape of the unknown?  One might think, well, if it’s unknown, then how can we know?  And yet we work with the unknown all the time.  In this series of essays, a lot of my work has … Continue reading

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Regulation Is Not a Plan

A recent interview (only one free article a month) at The American Interest with Peter Thiel caught my eye.  The interview takes up the idea that there has been a stagnation of innovation since the 1960s, other than in IT and … Continue reading

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Stealing IP from grant proposals, oh no!

In the US House of Representatives, bill HR 3433 would add “grants transparency” to the review and awarding of federally funded grants and cooperative agreements. The bill would require publication of awarded grant proposals within 15 days of notice of award, … Continue reading

Posted in Commons, Innovation, Social Science, Sponsored Research | 1 Comment

The University D-Economy, Fitt 5

I have been looking at various statements regarding the “D-economy.” It goes by various names–Shanzhai rules, débrouillards, System-D. The Wired write up was interesting. Here is another, from Coley Hudgins at Resilient Family. Here’s another by Robert Neuwirth (who was … Continue reading

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Patent battles and research fragmentation

John Dvorak over at PC Magazine has an interesting comment on the patent battles shaping up in mobile.  His more general observation, however, is what  caught my eye: This whole idea of actual inventions and the monopoly is over. Around … Continue reading

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Projects, the Treatment for Fool's Dream Virus

The gulf between the Supreme Court decision in Stanford v Roche and the push in universities for present assignments is huge.   The Court decided the question whether Bayh-Dole was a vesting statute.  It said no. Wasn’t.  By doing that, … Continue reading

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Please Leave the Den Now

Attorneys analyzing Stanford v Roche and the Bayh-Dole Act from a distance need to understand: Bayh-Dole is directed at federal agencies.  It requires agencies to use a standard patent rights clause in their funding agreements.  The patent rights clause is … Continue reading

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Recycling Losing Arguments as Policy Intent

In a recent essay on the Stanford v Roche decision, Sean O’Connor gives a fascinating perspective on the push by the University of California to impose a present assignment obligation on faculty.  I could not figure how they could rationalize … Continue reading

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