Category Archives: IP

A compulsory policy so messed up, it must be voluntary!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Gerald Barnett

11.  The present assignment is so incompetently constructed it boggles the mind. In a prior post, I included the above in a list of problems with UW’s implementation of present assignments.  I added this one because, well, UW’s “goes to … Continue reading →

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Shanzhai Rules

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

Over at the LinkedIn Post-Industrial Design group, there’s a little discussion started by Matt Sinclair on a report called The Future of Open Fabrication from the Institute For the Future.   The report calls out the Shanzhai approach to manufacturing in … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Printing, Innovation, IP, Social Science, Technology Transfer | Comments Off

CU’s a-Mazing IP Policy

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

In the University of Colorado’s IP policy we have a simple gesture that turns into a definitional and drafting maze.  The simple gesture is, “In an effort to make money licensing patent rights, the university requires the assignment of patentable … Continue reading →

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Evaluating university claims of invention ownership

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

I am working through this idea that an invention is owned by a university merely as the result of work within the scope of employment or through the use of university facilities (and resources and funding and whatever–class 3 unknown). … Continue reading →

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An Exclusive Enjoyment

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

This case (US v Dubilier Condenser) from 1933 makes an interesting point regarding the idea of a patent as a “monopoly” (citations removed, my bold): Though often so characterized a patent is not, accurately speaking, a monopoly, for it is … Continue reading →

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All your works are belong to USC

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

Here’s one for you, from the University of Southern California Intellectual Property Policy.  See if you can figure out what’s wrong untrue with this statement: Both California and federal law provide that the University owns all intellectual property created or … Continue reading →

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Drafting the Unknown

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

As I’m reading through university IP policies, I’ve begun to notice how those drafting the policies are grappling with the unknown.  There are a number of unknowns–many policies don’t evidence that the drafters know IP, and others work hard to … Continue reading →

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The “Patent Problem” in 1948

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

I’ve been looking at university patent policies lately and came across this discussion of university patent policies by Archie Palmer from 1948, produced by the National Research Counsel and available through Google Books. The discussion is notable for the clarity … Continue reading →

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Institutional IP Baksheesh

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

Here is perhaps the worst conceived and written paragraph in University of Washington policy history.   Seven sentences without the hope of connecting their subject and verbs into a coherent expression.  Read, enjoy.  I’ll work through the finer points in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bozonet, IP, Policy, Technology Transfer | Comments Off

Harmonizing with the Wrong Thing

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Gerry Barnett

Which is more important, to harmonize US patent law with that of other countries, or to keep it consistent with the insights expressed in the US Constitution, which supports progress through the personal rights of inventors? The Constitution allows the … Continue reading →

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