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Professional And Academic Employee Inventions: Looking Beyond The Uk Paradigm, Justine Pila
Professional And Academic Employee Inventions: Looking Beyond The Uk Paradigm, Justine Pila
Justine Pila
The vast majority of inventions are devised by employees, raising the question who is entitled to patent them? Under the UK Patents Act 1977, the right to patent an invention lies primarily with its inventor(s). However, an exception exists for employee inventions to which section 39(1) applies. The recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in UWA v Gray raises the question of the applicability of this provision in the university context, in respect of regular academic employees. In that case, the Court relied on UK authorities to support its conclusion that the University of …
Academic Freedom And The Courts, Justine Pila
Academic Freedom And The Courts, Justine Pila
Justine Pila
Recent events in the United Kingdom have focused attention on the protection at law of institutional and individual academic freedom. While such freedoms sit in tension, they share a basis in the liberal ideal of the pursuit of truth through teaching, discussion and research. It is a truism that this ideal is currently under threat, and with it academic freedom itself. The source of the threat is complex and varied, but includes changes in the economy, scientific research, and British higher education policy. One result of these changes has been what W R Cornish described in 1991 as “a rising …