Jon Stone Perspective Included in Life Sciences IP Review Article About Potential Impact of March-In Rights on University-Driven Innovation
Jon Stone, a Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady Intellectual Property partner and chair of the firm’s Research Institutions & Higher Education Industry Team, was quoted in a Life Sciences IP Review article about the impact the Trump administration’s threats to invoke march-in rights could have on life sciences innovation at U.S. universities.
The Bayh-Dole Act, which enabled universities to patent their inventions that were funded by federal research, also gave the federal government to ability to require a private patent holder to license a federally funded invention to another entity. Recently, members of the Trump administration have suggested they may invoke these march-in rights.
Stone noted that if this happens, it could have a substantive impact in areas such as pharma and biotech. An excerpt:
If the government forced Harvard, or any university, to license its patents, it would mark “a significant shift in how the Bayh-Dole Act is enforced,” says Stone.
Although march-in rights have existed since 1980, they’ve almost never been used. Stone warns that invoking them now could “send a chilling message to the innovation ecosystem,” making pharma companies less willing to partner with federally funded institutions if there’s a risk that IP could be later handed to competitors.
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Stone adds that shrinking funding cuts and tighter patent scrutiny could “seriously disrupt the future of drug discovery in the US,” and biotech startups are “especially vulnerable”.
He explains: “Pulling back support risks slowing the pace of new therapies and increased patent oversight could also make pharmaceutical companies more cautious about partnering with universities and startups, potentially chilling collaboration at a time when it could be needed the most.”
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