Insights: Publications The State Giveth and the State Taketh Away: Patent Rights Under the Bayh-Dole Act
Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Volume 24:491
A small business owner is considering applying for a government contract to produce a new type of solar panel. She has been working on solar cell technology for years and has patents on her previous designs. She could really use the funding, but has misgivings: Will the government get the patent to the new design, or even the previous designs? Such matters are controlled by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (―Bayh-Dole‖). According to conventional wisdom, Bayh-Dole represents a major shift in patent rights to federally-funded inventions from the government to the contractor. However, the rights Bayh-Dole gives contractors are limited and easily overridden. Conventional wisdom on Bayh-Dole ignores the numerous restrictions potentially placed on funding recipients, up to and including loss of the patent. This Note will discuss these limitations and how to best proceed with caution when entering into a government contract.
Related People
Disclaimer
While we are pleased to have you contact us by telephone, surface mail, electronic mail, or by facsimile transmission, contacting Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP or any of its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship. The formation of an attorney-client relationship requires consideration of multiple factors, including possible conflicts of interest. An attorney-client relationship is formed only when both you and the Firm have agreed to proceed with a defined engagement.
DO NOT CONVEY TO US ANY INFORMATION YOU REGARD AS CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL A FORMAL CLIENT-ATTORNEY RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.
If you do convey information, you recognize that we may review and disclose the information, and you agree that even if you regard the information as highly confidential and even if it is transmitted in a good faith effort to retain us, such a review does not preclude us from representing another client directly adverse to you, even in a matter where that information could be used against you.
