Category Archives: History

Palmer's 1962 Guide to University Patent Policies

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

Archie Palmer has a helpful discussion on the treatment of invention ownership in the 147 universities with formalized patent policies, as of 1962.  Palmer’s work is important, because for thirty years, Palmer was Archie Appleseed of university patent policies.  He … Continue reading →

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Why is the 1995 NIH "20-20" Guide Still Up?

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

At the University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property web site we find this NIH Guide, the 20 Questions About Extramural Invention Reporting: The Bayh-Dole Act encourages researchers to patent and market their inventions by guaranteeing patent rights. [No, wait–we find the … Continue reading →

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What is Bayh-Dole and why is it important to Technology Transfer?

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

Here is a short description of the Bayh-Dole Act at a US university tech transfer office web site.   There are many things wrong with the four paragraphs here.  Consider: In 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act (PL 96-517, Patent and Trademark Act … Continue reading →

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Five Questions That Shape Federal Research Invention Ownership Policy

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

In the industry research laboratories of the early 20th century, the question was, which comes first, basic research leading to new scientific knowledge, followed by development efforts to create commercial products? or development efforts to create commercial products, which, when … Continue reading →

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The Lens of the (faux) Bayh-Dole Act

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Gerald Barnett

I continue to be amazed at the persistence of the faux Bayh-Dole crowd. Like something out of The Road Warrior, they keep coming back to wreak havoc. Despite the text of the law, the Supreme Court ruling in Stanford v … Continue reading →

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Falling revenues for the model that never was, but is

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

An article by Jens Krogstad in USA Today, reposted at Innovation Daily, has the headline “Universities struggle with falling invention royalties”.   Well, no kidding.   The big biotech window of investment was 1980-1995.   Aging patents in university portfolios are expiring everywhere, … Continue reading →

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Another Wild Assertion of Best Practice

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

Here is a passage from the “IP Handbook of Best Practices,” from an article about the development of University of California “technology transfer”, co-authored by a former director of the UC tech transfer office (emphasis added): In 1943, the first … Continue reading →

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IP Governance or IP Management?

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

After Bayh-Dole was passed, university administrators got the idea that universities had to have policy statements to claim ownership of inventions to comply with Bayh-Dole.  The idea was that “elect to retain title” meant “elect title” which meant “title vests … Continue reading →

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Coolangatta IP

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

Traditional knowledge encompasses the information possessed and developed within a community.  Such knowledge arises and is used to inform the activities of the community–it is “traditional” in this way.  The authors of a AAAS handbook, in a discussion of TK, … Continue reading →

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Thinking back to think ahead

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

I have added a new page to the blog, Cottrell on Patents.  There you can find Cottrell’s 1912 essay explaining why he started Research Corporation.  Also, I’ve added a link to a historical account of Cottrell’s work and Research Corporation. … Continue reading →

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