Category Archives: Innovation

Regulation Is Not a Plan

A recent interview (only one free article a month) at The American Interest with Peter Thiel caught my eye.  The interview takes up the idea that there has been a stagnation of innovation since the 1960s, other than in IT and … Continue reading

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Stealing IP from grant proposals, oh no!

In the US House of Representatives, bill HR 3433 would add “grants transparency” to the review and awarding of federally funded grants and cooperative agreements. The bill would require publication of awarded grant proposals within 15 days of notice of award, … Continue reading

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The University D-Economy, Fitt 5

I have been looking at various statements regarding the “D-economy.” It goes by various names–Shanzhai rules, débrouillards, System-D. The Wired write up was interesting. Here is another, from Coley Hudgins at Resilient Family. Here’s another by Robert Neuwirth (who was … Continue reading

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Why an Innovation Bill of Rights, and not Better Bureaukleptic University Policy?

I’m looking at a new article on Stanford v Roche that ends with the assurance that universities can use present assignments and doing so will “fix” their ownership problem.  Before getting into the article, I want to emphasize that this … Continue reading

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Faculty employees

Employers own their employees’ work Faculty are employees Therefore universities own the work of faculty Is it that simple?   Let’s look at it two ways.  First, from the perspective that this reasoning is actually how someone comes to the conclusion … Continue reading

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Research Veering in the Public Interest

Did you see this story in the New York Times yesterday?  “Sloan-Kettering Chief Is Accused of Taking Research.” Craig Thompson, who worked at a research institute affiliated with University of Pennsylvania, starts a company, Agios, and now is being sued … Continue reading

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When public mission = money

I have been emphasizing organizational conflict of interest.  Most universities have no policy on such things, and therefore technology transfer has been allowed to make a transition from a broadly faculty-led activity with a diversity of practices reflecting the range … Continue reading

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7 Points on the UC Present Assignment Requirement

There has been some discussion going on about the recent UC requirement that everyone sign a new patent acknowledgement, this one with a present assignment in it, with the claim that this change is needed to respond to the Stanford … Continue reading

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Theory Failure in Technology Transfer

Chris Newfield underscores some of the points I make about the linear model from a different direction in an essay he wrote recently for the Remaking the University blog. If the US can’t get over the hump and start spending … Continue reading

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Explaining an Emblem of the Linear Model

Gene Quinn at IP Watchdog posted last October a nice essay (h/t to François Stofft at the Linkedin International Technology Transfer Professionals group) on the problems of accelerating technology transfer by federal fiat. The new programs that have been announced … Continue reading

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