Expert Opinions

Q&A on Critical Issues in University Intellectual Property

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:53:50 GMT

IPAO Interviews Dr. Galen J. Suppes, PhD
Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia

There are many nuances and far-reaching ramifications to the handling of invention disclosures at universities than is superficially evident. This question and answer session with Dr. Galen J. Suppes, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Missouri elucidates some of the key issues related to patentable intellectual property a

Q&A with Expatriate Scientist Leaving U.S. Frustrated
with Barriers to Research

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:14:13 GMT

IPAO Interviews Dr. David Townsend
Head of SPECT and PET Development, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium
Professor, National University of Singapore

For years Dr. David Townsend has carried out life-saving imaging research at prestigious universities from the University of Geneva to the University of Pittsburgh and then the University of Tennessee. However, after enduring trials with the bureaucracy that has become university technology transfer and compl

Solutions For Crisis in Healthcare: How Can Our US Tax Dollars Better Translate Into Medical Benefit?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:51:10 GMT

by Fred Mermelstein, PhD

Executive Director and Founder, Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

It is readily apparent that the US government dedicates large amounts of taxpayer dollars to support fundamental scientific and medical research with few results of immediate and reasonable impact. The disparity between money spent and return on investment is an untold crisis. Moreover, the Research Technology Enterprise Initiative at the University of Washington, a 20-year technology transfer veteran with extensive work in university research contracting and intellectual property management and has developed programs th

Lost In Translation
Unintended Consequences of the Bayh-Dole Act

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:09:04 GMT

Elizabeth Popp Berman
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
University at Albany, SUNY

In 1980, passage by Congress of the Bayh-Dole Act granted universities the right to patent federally funded research. Bayh-Dole was the culmination of fifteen years of effort by government officials and university administrators. Proponents of the legislation cared deeply about getting the results of the vast quantities of taxpayer supported research into the hands of peo

Is the New University Mantra â€œPublish, Patent or Perishâ€�?

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:09:29 GMT

Elliott C. Kulakowski, PhD

President, Research Administration and Management Strategy Group (RAM)

Universities are increasing efforts to identify the intellectual property of their faculty and to protect it through their technology commercialization offices (TCO). However, by and large, tenure and promotion systems have not kept pace with the universities' push to commercialize research results.

Historically, tenure and promotion systems focused on t

Reconsidering the Bayh-Dole Act

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:18:35 GMT

In the October 2009 issue of Research Policy, Dr. Martin Kenney and Dr. Donald Patton present their article Reconsidering the Bayh-Dole Act and the Current University Invention Ownership Model.

Who Determines the Destiny of University Innovation?
An AUTM debate over the role of the inventor in licensing

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:45:37 GMT

Held March 18, 2010
AUTM Annual Conference, New Orleans

Dr. Renee Kaswan, former UGA professor and inventor of Restasis®, was invited to take part in the first annual AUTM debate on the "Role of Inventors in Negotiating License Transactions" at its Annual Conference, held this year in New Orleans. What follows is Dr. Kaswan's commentary based on this debate:

At present, administrators at most U.S. universities have claimed "to

Myriad Ruling Is No Joke

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:53:47 GMT

IP Coach Marcel Mongeon shares his opinions on the landmark ruling that invalidated several of Myriad's BRAC patents.

As everyone waits for the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Bilski – which may change the fundamental nature of what constitutes a patentable invention – a trial level judge of the US Federal Court has invalidated gene patents. I note that although the ruling was close to, it was not