As tech transfer managers from around the world convened at the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) annual meeting in New Orleans, a commercialization expert and an inventor came together to propose an “Academic Inventors’ Bill of Rights.” Alan Bentley, director of commercialization for Cleveland Clinic Innovations, and Renee Kaswan, DVM, MS, DACVO, founder of IPAdvocate.org and former research professor at the University of Georgia, contend that the adoption of standard IP rights for students and faculty will benefit not only inventors but also universities and society. “Most technology commercialization professionals understand the importance of building strong partnerships with our faculty innovators,” says Bentley. who pointedly did not embrace the notion of faculty “free agency” proposed recently by The Kauffman Foundation and supported by Kaswan. “The productivity of our industry has been called into question of late, partly because of isolated system failures in working with faculty,” Bentley adds. “The creation of a standardized Inventors’ Bill of Rights that all academic institutions can adopt would be a powerful message to our faculty that commercialization is indeed a partnership.”
“Faculty researchers generally understand that the university’s tech transfer office can be a valuable resource, but we’re also vulnerable because there are no official protections of our role in translating our discoveries into products that benefit society,” Kaswan says. “It’s encouraging to see both sides coming together to discuss these issues openly, and to brainstorm creative solutions.”
The Inventors’ Bill of Rights proposes, among other things:
- Students and faculty have a right to freedom of expression, and the right to teach and publish their research shall not be abridged by IP policy.
- Inventors shall be entitled to timely disposition of their inventions and to obtain access to inventions for which the university elects to halt commercialization efforts without onerous restrictions or obligations to the university that would act as disincentives to commercialize.
- Universities must establish and publish transparent practices and procedures comprising their commercialization processes.
- Inventors have the right to due process, conducted in public with public access to all records as they may request.
- All inventors, including students and other subordinate persons, shall have equal right to institutional protection of their interests in their IP regardless of academic rank or position.
- Inventors have the right to be informed about any license negotiations or renegotiations.
- An appropriate faculty-run governance body, such as a Faculty Senate, shall approve any changes to IP or commercialization policies.
- A committee that includes faculty, student, and administrative representatives shall resolve disputes.
Source: WebSphere Journal