Analysis
Statement from Inventor
"The lawsuit was just so much nonsense and innuendo. They just went ahead with this whole fabricated case. None of my colleagues in the field wanted to get involved and the Pitt lawyers never really talked to those people.
It was pretty absurd and everyone who reviewed it expressed rather similar feelings. Nevertheless it was a stressful period for several years."
Dr. David Townsend, PhD
Implications of Case:
There are several issues engendered by this case for academic inventor awareness.
First, the University of Pittsburgh operated under the assumption that they had rights in all intellectual property developed by its faculty. Best practices in university intellectual property policies spell out under what circumstances the university has a stake in an invention. In this instance, the University had no valid claim on the work.
The invention was conceived and recorded in writing prior to Dr. Townsend's employment at the University. It was NOT conceived at the University of Pittsburgh.
Second, the University violated its own policies by not keeping accurate records, ensuring it had complete documentation and managing the patent application process. And Pitt then tried to hold Dr. Townsend accountable for their failure to comply with their own policies and lack of reasonable diligence.
Alarming but true, the last point is that academic inventors must educate themselves on university intellectual property policies and practices, as well as the provisions of the Bayh-Dole Act. In theory, a technology transfer office should manage the process from invention to licensing, operating in the mutual best interests of the university and their faculty, knowledgeably and with integrity.
However, there is a largely undisclosed darker aspect to university technology commercialization. The profitability of an invention may tempt university administrators to make questionable decisions or engage in amoral legal attacks on their faculty, disregarding the long term consequences of such actions upon the entire university's moral integrity and reputation. The greater the profit potential, the greater is the risk for unwarranted litigation.
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