BY KATHLEEN J. SULLIVANA, from Stanford News
Stanford lawsuit that began as a patent infringement case against a drug company has evolved into a dispute over a federal law that promotes the commercialization of government-sponsored research and protects ownership rights of universities to inventions arising from government-sponsored research.
The federal law, the Bayh-Dole Act, has been the source of billions of dollars of funding to American universities through royalties generated from federally funded inventions. Funds received under the Bayh-Dole Act are required to be used for research, education and payment to the inventors.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Feb. 28 on Stanford University v. Roche Molecular Systems et al., a case that could have a significant impact on research universities nationwide.
