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Category Archives: History
The National Patent Planning Commission argument for government-created private patent monopolies, 1
I have been working through reports from the mid 1940s on government ownership of patents. There are a number of arguments against government exploitation of patents, but these arguments clearly failed. What arguments won out? Here’s one, from the National … Continue reading
Posted in History, Innovation, Policy
Tagged National Patent Planning Commission, open source, PARC, patent, Richard White, Steven Johnson
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The loss of public information in Bayh-Dole’s allocation of principal rights, 2
The effort to deal with government favoritism in handing out patent monopolies in areas of public welfare of direct interest to government requires a socially acceptable rationale. That rationale takes the form of a public covenant that runs with the … Continue reading
The loss of public information in Bayh-Dole’s allocation of principal rights, 1
Under the Kennedy and then Nixon executive branch patent policies, contractors engaged in federally supported research or development–and which did not meet the ordinary conditions under which a contractor was allowed to retain ownership of inventions made with federal support–could … Continue reading
Bayh-Dole and Clauses for domestic contracts, 1-9.107-6
Here’s Bayh-Dole’s definition of “subject invention”: The term “subject invention” means any invention of the contractor conceived or first actually reduced to practice in the performance of work under a funding agreement: Provided, That in the case of a variety of plant, … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, History
Tagged Bayh-Dole, policy, subject invention
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Taking Apart APLU’s Talking Points on Bayh-Dole, 4
One more bit about Bayh-Dole in the APLU Talking Points: Before 1980, fewer than 250 patents were issued to U.S. universities annually; discoveries were rarely commercialized for the public’s benefit. By contrast, according to a recent survey by the Association … Continue reading
Taking Apart APLU’s Talking Points on Bayh-Dole, 3
We are working through APLU’s Talking Points on the cash cows of Bayh-Dole, commercialization, entrepreneurship and whatever else the federal government can be induced to fund. The APLU Talking Points turn next to what the federal government should do to … Continue reading
Drift as a city’s economic driver
Some years ago, Jane Jacobs published a series of books that take up the issue of how cities contribute to regional and national economies. In particular, Jacobs argued that a particular kind of city behavior was crucial for a regional … Continue reading
Posted in Freedom, History, Innovation, Shanzhai
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University of Misery’s IP Policy Scam, 16
University administrators insist that they, unlike their corporate counterparts, can expand their institutional claim on inventions to be anything that’s invented, and faculty must agree to this claim as a condition of employment. That is, administrators claim the right to … Continue reading
University of Misery’s IP Policy Scam, 15
In Bayh-Dole, the definition of “subject invention” is not a matter of defining a term in a federal contract. Bayh-Dole is part of federal patent law, so “subject invention” is a definition of patent law. A subject invention is a … Continue reading
Posted in Bayh-Dole, History, Policy
Tagged Bayh-Dole, MPEP, stupid mess, subject invention, University of Missouri
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University of Misery’s IP Policy Scam, 14
The use of “subject invention” in federal contracting goes back to at least as early as 1947, when the military used “subject invention” in research contracts. Here’s an instance from a Navy contract (quoted in Mine Safety Appliances Company v. … Continue reading