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I'm confused about how either MIT, Harvard, or UC Berkeley owns the IP. Ostensibly the research was funded by the NIH or NSF, not those institutions. Is it real

I'm confused about how either MIT, Harvard, or UC Berkeley owns the IP. Ostensibly the research was funded by the NIH or NSF, not those institutions. Is it really the case the the universities own the IP of NSF-sponsored grants?

jessriedel 10y ago
Patents are awarded to inventors not funders. Grant agreements rarely require the transfer of patent rights, but employment agreements often do.
- wonderous 10y ago
  If it's a US federal grant from SBIR for example, even when retaining title to the patent, the researcher must grant a nontransferable license to practice the invention to the federal government.
SeanLuke 10y ago
Bayh-Dole Act. Since 1980, IP produced by government sponsored research is owned by the inventor, not the government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayh%E2%80%93Dole_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayh%E2%80%93Dole_Act
- CalChris 10y ago
  That's for Federally funded research. The definitive way to find out who owns the patent is to look at the Original Assignee and then the Legal Events to find out who the most recent owner is: So Transmeta was the Original Assignee for US7100061 but Intellectual Ventures now owns it. https://www.google.com/patents/US7100061 https://www.google.com/patents/US7100061
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]