Monthly Archives: August 2010
Are you feeling all right?
Here are some implications of US university IP policies and technology transfer office practices: 1) the value of university research is referred at each point of invention to commercial markets; 2) university IP claims serve to create value for the … Continue reading
Fragmentation
When a bunch of universities file patents on bits and pieces of an area of research, such as has happened in nanotechnology, who are the big winners? That is, there is a commons made of patent claim thicket. No one … Continue reading
Patent Fair Use, Commons, and Research Inventions
Madey v. Duke wasn’t a good thing for research. Essentially, it put an end to the idea of a research use exception to patent claims. Whatever the merits of the case, there is no question in my mind that it’s … Continue reading
Here’s what I mean
Nick White over at the LinkedIn SpinOut group, which I like a lot, points to this story put out by the University of Edinburgh. The University claims 40 start ups in a year, raising £3m in start up financing. A … Continue reading
Thinking about software
I’ve spent a large part of the past 20 years working on university-originated software IP–in research, instruction, and administrative services. We’ve done open source, source available, venture-backed start ups, technology access programs, commons, publication agreements, distribution agreements, site licenses, waived … Continue reading
If it weren’t for bad luck
A bad IP policy is worse than nothing. The purpose of an IP policy is (1) to change in the defaults of law, (2) to provide clarity with regard to employment obligations, (3) to set out protocols to manage IP, … Continue reading
…. And Zombies!
In perhaps the simplest form, one may ask what collateral damage university IP policies do to research, just as one might ask whether central plans for rebuilding a city have much to offer the areas to be rebuilt. In this, … Continue reading
Taking it to the Street
Jane Jacobs wrote one of the definitive critiques of central planning in her The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Fifty years on, the work still hits home. In DLGAC, Jacobs starts with the life of the street, arguing … Continue reading
Hmpf, vol. 2
I came by a report by The Science Coalition called “Sparking Economic Growth: Federal Funding + University Research = Innovation, Companies and Jobs“. Title says it all. The Science Coalition says it is “a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of 50 fo … Continue reading
Early Stage Technology
What does “early stage” mean in “early stage technology”? Does it arise from DoD “Technology Readiness Levels“? Perhaps. With TRL treatment, we are deep into the Linear Model. The starting point is basic research, which has to be translated into … Continue reading