Inventor Disputes DNA Sequencer Patent

syntap writes: "USA Today is reporting on a story on an argument between a research company and the California Institute of Technology over who 'owns' a particular DNA sequencing technology, and they want it placed in the public domain. 'The suit also claims that millions of federal dollars were used to create the device, which would give researchers backed by the government the rights to buy and use the sequencer without paying royalties. It demands that Caltech and Applera refund millions of dollars to federal agencies for royalties they paid on sequencers used in public research.'"

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[Anonymous Coward]

Every single person who works (in any capacity, mind you) at Caltech (a.k.a. the Institute) signs a piece of paper that makes any hardware you patent or software you write, using Intitute funds or facilities, intellectual property of the Institute. I believe you can be the patent holder or author but the Institute gets the royalties or whatever.

This has been upheld in court, ad nauseum.

Another sysadmin I know has written a useful program, that he cannot release under GPL for fear of the legal brigade.