Tag Archives: patents

Outline of the federal framework for the disposition of inventions

Here is an outline of the federal framework for inventions. I have included links to various documents. Lots more to be said, and the brief account here is more gist than deep summary, but perhaps you find it helpful. Plenty … Continue reading

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Harbridge House on university exclusive licensing, 1

The Harbridge House report on government patent policy in 1968 laid the foundation for Bayh-Dole. Or, rather, federal officials selectively used portions of the report to change federal policy to conform to the wishes of patent development firms affiliated with … Continue reading

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How can a startup protect their intellectual property without filing for a patent? 

I was asked to respond to another Quora question— How can a startup protect their intellectual property without filing for a patent? Tim Berry provides a really excellent answer at Quora. But I thought it would be worth it to … Continue reading

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A sense of proportion–1

“If life is going to exist in a universe this size, the one thing it cannot afford to have is a sense of proportion.” —Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy In the Bayh-Dole era–1981 to the present–the US Patent … Continue reading

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A century of reaping enormous profits at the expense of sickness and misfortune, 2

Mayo’s research publication Discovery’s Edge recently ran an article on “The Power of Patents.” In the article, Mayo Clinic wonders about patent royalties from a famous past invention: When Mayo Clinic colleagues Edward Kendall, Ph.D., and Philip Hench, M.D., along with … Continue reading

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Hormones and Patents

Graham Dutfield at the University of Leeds has published an article on the development of medical hormone products and patent law, “Patent on Steroids: What Hormones Tell Us about the Evolution of Patent Law.” The article doesn’t do as much … Continue reading

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NIST’s “substantially fueled” premise for unleashing innovation

Here is a claim from the opening of a recent NIST report–1234–on “Unleashing American Innovation,” a “draft green paper”: The U.S. innovation system is substantially fueled by the discoveries and inventions arising from federally funded R&D at the Nation’s universities, … Continue reading

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The dogs in the manger, 2

We are working through some testimony from 1979 by a federal patent attorney, R. Tenney Johnson, before a Senate subcommittee considering a federal government invention policy bill that was a rival to Bayh-Dole (and strikingly similar, and didn’t pass). Johnson … Continue reading

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Guide to Bayh-Dole by the Layers, 7

Eighth layer: Outcomes We reach the eighth and final layer of Bayh-Dole: outcomes. We can consider four elements of outcomes: activity, cost, practical application, and the effects of patent monopoly exclusion on such things as research, rapid industry and professional … Continue reading

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Institutional patent derangement syndrome

The discussion of university ownership of patents on inventions made in faculty-led research invariably adopts the singular. Consider one invention at one university. Now, doesn’t it make sense that university administrators should take over that invention for the good of … Continue reading

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