Patent Law

Universities: key opponent to S.1145

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

One interesting aspect is the significant role that the universities have played because of their tech-transfer offices. The tech transfer guy at University of Nevada-Reno has had Reid staffers visit his office three times to see if they can't satisfy him. (No luck so far.) The president of the University of Kentucky has 5 patents himself and strongly believes the bill should be killed. Senator McConnell (minority leader) can't get his mind changed. Senator Hatch has had at least three meetings with two or three of the state's largest universities to discuss the bill, but can't win them over.

Although the IT vs. pharma divergence has been stressed in the debate on patent reform, another key loser if S.1145 is passed is academe, and universities have been making themselves heard. Further, unlike pharma (which is not uniformly distributed in the US; New Jersey being a "center"), universities are everywhere. The Coalition for Patent Fairness, which had been running an exemplary lobbying effort, really stubbed its toe on the academic front.

IPBiz wonders if the university tech transfer offices and university presidents will wake up one day and realize that law school academics such as Lemley are greatly responsible for the problem they currently have? An irony.

See also

Lex Luther challenges Howard Berman on patent reform, HR 1908

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/05/exploring-big-guylittle-guy-dimension.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/02/patent-reform-leahyhatch-credibility-on.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/10/princeton-fog.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/12/barack-obama-should-listen-to-inventors.html

Full post as published by IPBiz on March 05, 2008 (boomark / email).