Category Archives: Freedom

Penn State’s Protection Racket, 19: Conflict of Commitment

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Even with this critique we have not got to the bottom of Penn State’s policy treatment of conflict of interest/commitment as a covert IP policy. Conflicts of interest and/or commitment “exist” when someone has “preferential access” to knowledge or university … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom, Policy, Technology Transfer | Comments Off on Penn State’s Protection Racket, 19: Conflict of Commitment

Penn State’s Protection Racket, 17: Academic Freedom

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Here’s the opening of Penn State’s policy on academic freedom (HR 64): Academic freedom refers to the environment provided by the University that permits faculty members to engage in their scholarly pursuits of teaching, research, and related activities at institutions … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom, Policy | Comments Off on Penn State’s Protection Racket, 17: Academic Freedom

Key Concept 5: Public Covenant (Addendum)

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

The Need for a Public Covenant A public covenant attached to a patent property right reflects a determination that the federal patent system, on its own, is not adequate to a given governmental or private purpose. We might say, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Bozonet, Freedom | Comments Off on Key Concept 5: Public Covenant (Addendum)

What should the federal government do with patents it issues to itself? Part 3

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Here is one of the most provocative parts of Vannevar Bush’s Science the Endless Frontier: Science Is a Proper Concern of Government It has been basic United States policy that Government should foster the opening of new frontiers. It opened … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, History, Policy, Sponsored Research | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What should the federal government do with patents it issues to itself? Part 3

The IPA and Wisconsin’s 1969 Patent Policy, 14

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

The start is here: The IPA and Wisconsin’s 1969 Patent Policy, 1 Three sorts of university invention We can then distinguish three sorts of invention arising in federally funded research at universities: inventive tools, inventive tools that can be sold … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, History, Policy | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The IPA and Wisconsin’s 1969 Patent Policy, 14

The Unofficial University of Wisconsin Patent Policy, c. 1960

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

In his 1962 compendium of university patent policies, Archie Palmer noted that the University of Wisconsin had no formal patent policy. By then, Wisconsin was an outlier among research universities, most of which had some statement regarding patents and inventions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom, History, Policy | Comments Off on The Unofficial University of Wisconsin Patent Policy, c. 1960

Use the government license in Bayh-Dole

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

According to news reports (here’s where I first read about it–follow the link there to the article in the Baltimore Sun), the state of Maryland is attempting to deal with high drug prices through legislation that gives the state the right … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Policy | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Use the government license in Bayh-Dole

Not fixing a hole in Bayh-Dole

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

Bayh-Dole does not disturb federal common law with regard to inventions. Inventors supported by federal research funds own their inventions. The Supreme Court made this clear in Stanford v Roche. Bayh-Dole applies to subject inventions only. Subject inventions are patentable inventions … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Not fixing a hole in Bayh-Dole

Free Competition and Enterprise in Bayh-Dole

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

One reason that Bayh-Dole is so difficult to parse is that there are multiple levels at work. It’s easier to just say that Bayh-Dole gives universities ownership of inventions made with federal support, and they can do anything they want … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Innovation | Comments Off on Free Competition and Enterprise in Bayh-Dole

Institutional Patent Licensing–One of the least “direct” ways to obtain new technology

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Gerald Barnett

A few weeks ago I was involved in a discussion about how a region might import new technology developed at distant universities. One of the participants, with a background in AUTM-style technology transfer, made the off-hand comment that if we … Continue reading →

Posted in Agreements, Bayh-Dole, Freedom, Technology Transfer | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Institutional Patent Licensing–One of the least “direct” ways to obtain new technology