Category Archives: Sponsored Research

Government Funding For Research, 1

Out in Twitterland, I saw this tweet by Brett Blackham: Arguably, research and development is so important that government should have nothing to do with it. However since 1980 a company or university could get government money to do research … Continue reading

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Five Steps to Restoring an Effective University IP Practice, Step 5

We have been working through five steps to restore a university’s IP practice to something that. might be modestly effective. Abandon AUTM, which has worked for decades against effective IP policy and practices. Abandon compulsory university ownership claims. You may … Continue reading

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Five Steps to Restoring an Effective University IP Practice, Step 4

We are working through five steps to getting a university back to an effective IP practice, a practice aligned with academic values and focused on actual technology transfer. The idea of “technology transfer” is bureaucratic in origin. As a concept … Continue reading

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The use of the patent system for federal research results, 8: Exploiting the use of the patent system

FSA policy 110, the first agency attempt at making a policy to deal with inventions made in federally supported public health research, tries to establish a middle ground for the use of patents. While clearly endorsing open access, including royalty-free … Continue reading

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The use of the patent system for federal research results, 7: Failure of FSA 110-1 to establish a middle ground

Let’s look more carefully at this second possibility beyond the possibility of open access–and where the “generally” in FSA 110-1 gets triggered to make at an attempted middle ground between always open access and full-on use of patents to exclude … Continue reading

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The use of the patent system for federal research results, 3: FSA 110-1 and public interest

Federal policy on inventions made in federally supported research starts in a big way with Federal Security Agency Order 110-1, dated December 30, 1952. Norman Latker, patent counsel for the NIH, in 1978 testimony before Senator Nelson’s subcommittee, identified Order … Continue reading

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A sense of proportion–5

One can see, then, where Bayh-Dole comes into play in this meaningless mess. Bayh-Dole was drafted by the same folks who created the IPA system. The IPA system was shut down in 1978 as ineffective and contrary to public policy. … Continue reading

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A sense of proportion–3

Prior to federal funding becoming the dominant source of university research funding, most universities operated their invention policies with a review committee that made recommendations to the university president with regard to particular inventions. The volume of invention reporting was … Continue reading

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A sense of proportion–2

University administrators have engaged in a thirty-year effort of research invention management that creates patent gridlock for what amounts to a tiny bit of the overall inventive activity in the country. That’s the black border area on this nice blue … Continue reading

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Research Enterprise Policy Issues: noisy work, quiet work

Let’s discuss practice around research, invention, and enterprise. Let’s start distinguish quiet work and noisy work. When someone is doing unprovoked research on their own–in the proverbial laboratory (institutional) or garage (unaffiliated, gadgeteer, entrepreneur), their work tends to be quiet. … Continue reading

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