[FC-discuss] Open University Campaign: Patent Notion

[Kevin Driscoll]

Hi Matt,

This is definitely the one that we tangled with the most back in
October. I readily admit my general ignorance about the history of
this topic but others made convincing arguments for its inclusion.

What are some good past cases that we can examine and use for reference?

When have universities failed to wield the patent privilege responsibly?

When has the "public good" (however you choose to define it) been
damaged, weakened, or not improved because of a university-owned
patent?

Big thanks for bringing this one back to the table!
Kevin


On Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 3:12 PM, Matt Senate <mattsenate at berkeley.edu> wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> The name is Matt Senate, Free Culture undergrad at UC Berkeley. Some of us
> have been discussing the ambiguity of the fourth requirement for an "Open
> University":
>
> 4. If the university holds patents, it readily licenses them for free
> software, essential medicines, and the public good.
>
> The other requirements are straight-forward and seemingly attainable.
> However the "public good" claim here seems too open-ended. Is this fourth
> requirement realistic? Do we wish it to remain an ideal or do we want to
> think practically? In what ways can we demand our Universities to openly
> license patents that are created through University research? Perhaps only
> demanding the release of free software and essential medicines is one end of
> the spectrum (a very realistic/practical goal). The other end would then be
> the release of all patents (one argument being that publicly funded research
> should be open to the public). Where do we want to fall on this spectrum, or
> better yet, what is the best position that will be the most fruitful
> overall?
>
> I and other Berkeley FCers appreciate any and all thoughts.
>
> - Matt Senate
> University of California at Berkeley
> Mathematics / Creative Writing
>
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