The Gold Seal of Ownership: Stanford v. Roche and Ownership of Federally Funded Research

Mary Hess Eliason, an Associate of Birch, Stewart, Kolasch an Birch, sent in this article she wrote discussing the Stanford v. Roche case.  Eliason highlights the issues being brought before the Supreme Court and the possible effects of this case if Stanford prevails.

When an invention is conceived, it is generally presumed to be owned by the inventor under U.S. patent law. [1] The case of Stanford v. Roche demonstrates that this may not be true in the context of federally funded research.  The issue being brought before the Supreme Court is whether, in the context of federally funded research, the ownership of the invention first arises with the federal contractor (i.e., Stanford) or with the inventor under the Bayh-Dole Act 35 U.S.C. §§ 200-212 and whether the inventor can interfere with that right by assigning the invention to a third party.[2]                                                    

The facts of Stanford v. Roche show a commonly occurring relationship between inventors, research institutions and collaborators, especially in the biotechnological field. [3]In 1988, inventor Holodniy joined a laboratory at Stanford University as a research fellow.  Upon joining the laboratory, Holodniy signed an agreement stating “I agree to assignor confirm in writing to Stanford . . . right, title and interest in . . . such inventions as required by Contracts or Grants”.  (more…)

02.9.11 | bayh-dole, biotechnology patents, posts | Stefanie Levine

He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune. Or Does He? The Supreme Court to Decide Who Owns Patent Rights to Inventions Produced in Federally Funded Projects?

The following alert was written by our friends at Kilpatrick Stockton, Charles W. Calkins and Wendy A. Choi.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari on November 1, 2010, in Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. (09-1159), involving the ownership of inventions made with federal funding under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act. The issue is whether a federal contractor university’s statutory right under the Bayh-Dole Act in inventions arising from federally funded research can be terminated (or superceded)unilaterally by an individual inventor through a separate agreement purporting to assign the inventor’s rights in a future invention to a third party.

The three patents in this case involve methods for using PCR techniques to measure HIV concentration in blood plasma to determine the effectiveness of AIDS treatment. Stanford scientists invented the methods while subject to a contractual duty to assign any inventions to Stanford. After agreeing to assign rights, but prior to making the invention, one of the inventors, Dr. Mark Holodniy, who was working on a collaboration between the university and Cetus, assigned his rights in his future inventions to Cetus, whose PCR business was later acquired by Roche. Dr. Holodniy promised to assignrights to Stanford but had actually assigned his rights to Cetus. Stanford filed for a patent and then demanded a royalty from Roche for the sale of its HIV test. The Federal Circuit has held that Roche could not be liable for infringement because it held ownership rights based on Dr. Holodniy’s purported assignment, which was contrary to his promise to Stanford. (more…)

11.9.10 | Federal Circuit Cases, Supreme Court Cases | Stefanie Levine