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The recent increased awareness of the importance to our economy of innovation and the development of new technologies has been coupled with the crafting of new legislation to increase the level of intellectual property protection available to innovators. Because one of the key methods of encouraging the efficient use of intellectual property is through licensing, it is crucial that our laws not unnecessarily discourage such licensing. Bills seeking to foster procompetitive licensing arrangements such as H.R. 557 and S. 438, as well as administration proposals such as those included in Title III of H.R. 1155 and S. 539, are intended to reassure American firms that the licensing of intellectual property will not receive hasty and harsh treatment under antitrust laws. H.R. 557 assures that only licensing arrangements proven to be anticompetitive will be held unlawful, while H.R. 1155 goes further to clarify and reform the doctrine of patent misuse and to clarify laws governing license challenges to patent validity. This legislation would strike a better balance between the rights of the patent owner and the rights of the licensee and give them greater freedom to negotiate terms that suit their needs, thus reducing the uncertainties that may now be deterring procompetitive licensing. (KM)

An analysis of problems relating to university patents today is presented, and a policy for the institution which addresses the issues that these problems present is suggested. Patenting the results of university research would not delay the publication of research and would provide a needed source of funding. (Author/MLW)

The ability of a university to do research free from undue interference is discussed in light of two court cases: Buchanan vs. American Motors Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. vs. Allen. Their principal significance lies in sparing nonparty researchers from the discovery process notwithstanding the acknowledged breadth of discovery. (MLW)

Whether words that are first spoken to an interviewer but end up as an edited transcript for the use of scholars and writers can receive copyright protection under the 1976 Federal Copyright Act is discussed. Ample precedent exists to determine that oral history is copyrightable. (MLW)

Public access to scientific research obtained by faculty employed at state universities, it is suggested, should be restricted until proprietary rights have been secured. Public access to a state university's research denies that institution a proprietary right, and severely discourages the promotion of high quality basic research. (MLW)