Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Are university researchers at risk for patent infringement?

  • Patents
  • Published:

From Nature Biotechnology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Academic researchers have regularly ignored patents on key technologies as a strategy to maneuver around patent thickets and freedom-to-operate issues, but they may be more at risk than they realize.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Merges, R.P. & Duffy, J.F. Patent Law and Policy: Cases and Materials 3rd edn. 2–3 (LexisNexus, Mathew Bender, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  2. The Patent Act, 35 US Code.

  3. Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 US 303 (1980).

  4. Pray, C. Oehmke, J.F. & Naseem, A. AgBioForum 8, 52–63 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Shapiro, C. Navigating the patent thicket: cross licenses, patent pools, and standard-setting (paper presented at Innovation Policy and the Economy, Washington, DC; 1–4 April 2000).

  6. Cukier, K. Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 249–251 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Graff, G.D. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 21, 989–995 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hansen, S.A., Kisielewski, M.R. & Asher, J.L. Intellectual property experiences in the United States scientific community (a report by the Project on Science and Intellectual Property in the Public Interest; 2007).

  9. Walsh, J., Cho, C. & Cohen, W.M. Patents, material transfers and access to Research inputs in biomedical research (Final Report to the National Academy of Sciences' Committee Intellectual Property Rights in Genomic and Protein-Related Research Inventions; 2005).

  10. Pray, C.E. & Naseem, A. AgBioForum 8, 108–117 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Mentewab, A. & Stewart, C.N. Jr. Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 1177–1180 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Stewart, C.N. Jr. Open-source agriculture. ISB News Report, December, 1–4 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  13. National Research Council, Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in Genomic and Protein Research and Innovation. Reaping the benefits of genomic and proteomic research: intellectual property rights, innovation, and public health. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. (2005).

  14. Andrews, L. et al. Science 314, 1395–1396 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. 35 USC § 200.

  16. Boettiger S. & Bennett, A. Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 320–323 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Madey v. Duke University, 307 F.3d 1351 (2002).

  18. Florida Prepaid v. College Savings Bank, 527 U.S. 627 (1999).

  19. Malakoff, D. Science 289, 2267–2269 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gillam, C. University group sues Monsanto over soybean patent. Reuters May 23 (2007).

  21. KSR International v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 US ___ (2007).

  22. Samardzija, M.R. Science 315, 190–191 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Anonymous. Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 633 (2005).

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bill Park and Stacey Patterson for helpful discussions and comments on earlier drafts.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jr. are in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Amy Yancey and C. Neal Stewart, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA. yancey@tennessee.edu, nealstewart@utk.edu,

    Amy Yancey & C Neal Stewart Jr

Authors
  1. Amy Yancey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C Neal Stewart Jr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yancey, A., Stewart, C. Are university researchers at risk for patent infringement?. Nat Biotechnol 25, 1225–1228 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1107-1225

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1107-1225

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation