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In the News

University of Kansas Wins Credit for NIH Cancer Research

As mentioned in: Bloomberg News
April 9, 2012
On April 6, 2012, Bloomberg reported that Pillsbury clients the University of Kansas (KU) and the University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. (KUCR), a nonprofit corporation affiliated with KU, prevailed in a closely watched legal battle over cancer drug formulation patents, after an arbitration panel ruled in KUCR’s favor following years of litigation against the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

KUCR "won the right to claim that two of its employees should be given credit on research conducted for the NIH that led to the cancer drug Velcade®," Bloomberg reported, noting "An arbitration panel agreed with the university's claim that a researcher and his assistant should have been included as inventors on two patents owned by NIH and licensed to Millennium Pharmaceuticals, now part of Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co."  The story noted that Velcade®, used to treat blood cancers, generated $623 million in sales last year for Takeda.

Pillsbury Intellectual Property partner William P. Atkins led a team of Pillsbury IP attorneys representing KU and KUCR in their legal campaign for co-inventorship credit against the NIH, including associate Christopher K. Dorsey, senior associate Benjamin L. Kiersz, partner George M. Sirilla, and partner Dr. John R. Wetherell. He explained why the university’s case is a cautionary tale for universities and other government contractors performing R&D work for the government in areas like medicine, energy, defense and other fields.

"The university could have had ownership rights to the intellectual property," Atkins said. "When there is a university involved and a government employee claims co-inventorship, the law is not always clear who owns the property."

Read the full Bloomberg story here.
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