Ethical Issues in the Transfer of Technology to Industry
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Ethical Issues in the Transfer of Technology to Industry Brian R.T. Frost
Interactions between university faculty, supporting commercial activities on the government laboratory research staffs, and other. industry hâve increased markedly over the It is, perhaps, easiest to illustrate the inpast two décades. Congress has seen this stitutional approach to thèse problems as a means of strengthening this country's through our expérience at Argonne Nacompétitive position relative to the rest of tional Laboratory, which is operated for the the world and has provided législative en- Department of Energy by the University of couragement. Today, we find research staff Chicago. In the past five years, Argonne members acting as consultants to industry, scientists hâve created 25 companies; as officers and stockholders in startup sometimes the scientists left the laboratory companies, and as récipients of sizeable but some remained on the staff. The Bayhroyalty payments when their inventions Dole Bill gave the university rights to are patented and licensed. Argonne intellectual property, and this As with ail programs that involve finan- right was exercised by the création of the cial incentives, there is potential for abuse. ARCH Development Corporation, a notThe Wall Street Journal published an articlefor-profit affiliate of the university. Initially, on January 26, 1989, which discussed the ARCH acted as a licensing office and has concealment, by a university researcher, of licensed 24 Argonne inventions, resulting négative results on a product being ex- in initial awards to inventors totaling ploited by a company in which he held $68,000. In 1989, it formed a venture fund stock. The Mardi 2, 1990 issue of Science to create new firms and has created eight discussed a suit filed by Pennsylvania State so far. The first to be based on Argonne University against one of its faculty for inventions—the Illinois Superconductor owning and licensing a patent in which the Corporation—raised for the first rime seriuniversity should hâve had rights. Such ous questions concerning allowable and incidents, taken together with the moral nonallowable rôles for scientists and outrage at récent Wall Street scandais, hâve caused us to overhaul our Consulting and led universities, fédéral agencies, and their conflict-of-interest policies. laboratories to dévote considérable effort to To address this problem, Argonne estabframing conflict-of-interest policies. lished an Intellectual Property Committee The National Institutes of Health hâve chaired by a senior manager, with a majorbeen in the eye of this particular hurricane ity membership of senior research scienbecause their laboratories hâve developed tists and engineers plus membership of important drugs which hâve been licensed légal and technology transfer représentato pharmaceutical companies. The result- tives. New policies on conflicts-of-interest, ing royalty feedback to the NIH research- consulting and equity ownership were deers has been considérable—in a few cases veloped and implemen
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