Category Archives: Freedom

Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–6

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Let’s come back around to Hal Plotkin’s question–who owns digital learning resources? Plotkin wants the answer to be: certainly not the university bureaucrats aiming to “commercialize” everything and therefore putting everything behind a paywall. That makes sense. Bureaucrats don’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Commons, Freedom, Open Source, Policy | Tagged , | Comments Off on Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–6

Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–5

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

There’s a basic problem with federal grant support for research. I don’t know if the Department of Education has avoided this problem, but I will put it out there. If a federal agency supports both research and maintenance of contract deliverables, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commons, Freedom, Open Source, Policy, Projects | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–5

Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–4

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Now let’s deal with “digital” educational works in the context of university intellectual property claims. This is something I’ve spent a couple of decades dealing with. The Department of Education published its final rule in January 2017, requiring open licensing … Continue reading →

Posted in Commons, Freedom, Open Source, Policy, Projects | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Who Owns Digital Learning Resources?–4

If state university patent policy is actually state law . . .

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Gerald Barnett

Over the course of a number of years, Professor Galen Suppes was involved in litigation with the University of Missouri over rights to inventions. Among other things, the University claimed ownership of inventions that Suppes made at another institution before … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom, IP, Litigation, Policy | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on If state university patent policy is actually state law . . .

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 →

Posted in Agreements, Bozonet, Freedom, Policy, Stanford v Roche, Technology Transfer | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Best practices in university invention management, 1

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 →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Bozonet, Freedom, Sponsored Research, Stanford v Roche | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The devils in the details: Bayh-Dole supports academic freedom, 2

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 →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Bozonet, Freedom, Sponsored Research, Stanford v Roche | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The devils in the details: Bayh-Dole supports academic freedom, 1

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 →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Policy | Comments Off on Optimism for a New Year

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 →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Commons, Freedom, Projects, Sponsored Research | Comments Off on Thinking about projects, small and big–8

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 →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Commons, Freedom, Projects, Sponsored Research | Comments Off on Thinking about projects, small and big–7