Accountability in patenting of federally funded research

Bayh-Dole allows academic grantees to patent federally-funded research for purposes of promoting the commercialization of this research. To ensure commercialization goals are achieved, the Act requires grantees to report to funding agencies not only the existence of federally-funded patents but also utilization efforts they and their licensees/assignees are making. Although reporting is a cornerstone of accountability under Bayh-Dole, information about grantee compliance with reporting requirements is incomplete and dated. In fact, the last significant study of the question dates back to the late 1990s and analyzes only 633 patents. Since that time, concerns have emerged that federally-funded university patents are being asserted improperly against independent commercializers or even assigned to so-called “patent trolls.” This article provides fresh evidence indicating substantial under-reporting of the existence of federal funding in over 30,000 academic biomedical patents issued between 1980 to 2007. The article finds substantial under-reporting of federal funding even in the case of patents on FDA-approved drugs, which should presumably receive significant attention from universities. Grantees’ failure to report federal funding suggests similar, or even more significant, noncompliance with requirements to report utilization information. However, compliance with reporting requirements on utilization cannot be assessed because of secrecy associated with relevant government databases. Accordingly, the article makes a fresh argument that the Commerce Department, which has the requisite regulatory authority, work with funding agencies, to improve transparency. Greater transparency would not only motivate grantees to improve reporting but would also allow assessment of whether grantee patent management is actually achieving Bayh-Dole\u27s utilization goals

Applicant and Examiner Citations in US Patents: An Overview and Analysis

Researchers studying innovation increasingly use indicators based on patent citations. However, it is well known that not all citations originate from applicants--patent examiners contribute to citations listed in issued patents--and that this could complicate interpretation of findings in this literature. In 2001 the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began reporting examiner and applicant citations separately. In this paper, we analyze the prior art citations of all patents granted by the USPTO in 2001-2003. We show that examiner citations account for 63 per cent of all citations on the average patent, and that 40 per cent of patents have all citations added by examiners. We use multivariate regression and analysis of variance to identify the determinants of examiner shares. Examiner shares are highest for non-US applicants and in electronics, communications, and computer-related fields. However, most of the variation is explained by firm-specific variables, with the largest patent applicants having high examiner shares. Moreover, a large number of firms are granted patents that contain no applicant prior art. Taken together, our findings suggest that heterogeneity in firm-level patenting practices, in particular by high-volume applicants, has a strong influence on the data. This suggests that analysis of firm-level differences in patenting strategies is an important topic for future research.Technology, patents, patent examiners, prior art, citations

Computer enhancement of real world photographic images using homomorphic and linear filtering

Digital Image Processing techniques have become increasingly popular in the last few years. Conventional silver halide photography continues to be used by the large amateur market, but not without imperfect images. There is almost always a need for enhancement or subsequent improvement after the photograph is made. This study dealt with computer image enhancement of such imperfect photographs using homomorphic (non-linear) and linear frequency-domain digital filtering (on a VAX-11/785) and a comparison in effectiveness was determined, using a subjective criteria for image quality. It was found that, in general, linear filtering is to be the preferred method of choice when implementing image enhancement on amateur type photographs. Differences in image quality improvement by the two techniques was minimal, when the image was subjected to histogram equalization after processing. Homomorphic filtering requires substantial post processing without which it is a potential failure. Linear filtering was both computationally less demanding and subjectively more pleasing

Time Out: Influence of user experience design on behavior to reduce smartphone use

We are more connected than we used to be but people are becoming disengaged from the real world. Are smartphones a blessing or a bane? That depends on how we use it. Being hooked to a smartphone while interacting with family or friends is a definite no-no. To address the issue of being neglected in social situations, timeOut allows neglected users to send anonymous timeouts to obsessive smartphone users who are preoccupied with their smartphones and are in close proximity to neglected users. The timeOut app allows neglected users to express their feelings without upsetting or embarrassing anyone. The application leveraged lean UX methodologies to quantify smartphone usage to make people aware of their distractive behavior. The goal of the project is to influence behavior through nudges, prompts and challenges that help the users in making positive behavioral changes.This project takes the form of a proof-of-concept prototype. The final outcome is based on research, user experience and human-computer interaction, design principles and technology to demonstrate the underlying concepts. timeOut has four main objectives: • To positively influence social behavior and impact smartphone usage with the help of user-friendly interface • To promote conversation • To make obsessive smartphone users aware of their distractive social behavior • To limit the interactions to bare minimum and design an externally consistent design for the iOS platfor