Category Archives: Commons

The University Conversion Experience, Part 1

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Gerald Barnett

The second “pillar” of university innovation is the formation of “projects.” But just what is a project, and why are projects so important? To get into this subject, let’s start with some particulars and work out. Consider, first, the problem … Continue reading →

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Seeking that "Oh, Ass" Moment

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Gerald Barnett

The Oh, Ass Moment In The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells, the narrator, Bedford, a would-be businessman partnered with Cavor, an inventive genius with no social aspirations, finds himself in a bit of a pickle on the moon, … Continue reading →

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Graphene, or 7300 patents waiting for commercialization

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Gerald Barnett

The BBC is running a cluster of stories today on graphene, a material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms. The UK angle is that graphene was invented in Britain, but Chinese and American organizations have flooded the area … Continue reading →

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The Woody Guthrie Public License

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

Kevin Carson wrote a book a few years ago called Organizational Theory:  A Libertarian Perspective. In it, he develops a number of concepts that ought to be central to university thinking about research and innovation. Carson picks up on Ronald Coase‘s question–if … Continue reading →

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It's *Not* Just a Tax, You Know

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

It’s Just a Tax I have always wondered where the dismissive argument that non-exclusive licenses are “just a tax” came from. The expression comes up a couple of times in Sally Smith Hughes’s interviews with Niels Reimers, who ran Stanford’s … Continue reading →

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On making (Seeking Money = Public Service) federal research policy

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

Here is a paper from 2006 (actually, it looks like a near-final draft) by Fiona Murray on the OncoMouse licensing problem. At the time, the OncoMouse was one of the big issues for university tech transfer offices.  The paper is a great … Continue reading →

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A Redtail’s Dream for University IP Management

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

  [Update 10/21/2018: Sundberg raised $124,000 on Indiegogo to print book one of her webcomic Stand Still. Stay Silent. She then raised $250,000 on Kickstarter to print book two. The webcomic is available “for free” on the web. Sundberg has … Continue reading →

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Worthless Patents

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

In my internet travels, I came across a useful article by Kimberly A. Moore titled “Worthless Patents.” At the time she wrote the article, she was a law professor at George Mason. Presently she is a judge with the Court … Continue reading →

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Not Again!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, at one strange point a whale and a bowl of petunias come into existence and have only a few moments to come to grips with their situation. In about five minutes, a connection … Continue reading →

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The Free Play of Free Intellects

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

The Bayh-Dole Act has been championed as a great turning point in the federal government’s management of inventions made by university faculty (for the most part) supported by federal money. The impression meant to be left with us is that … Continue reading →

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