Former top state officals start new company

[Maxxgas]

Bredesen, Kisber, Farr create solar company | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

This is interesting. The State of Tennessee has spent over 2 years and millions of tax dollars developing the framework for a solar energy industry and now we learn that 3 soon to be former state government officials have already started a company involving solar energy.

I wonder what the reaction would be if the 3 guys were Republicans?

 

[OrangeYankee]

.. wow pretty slick

 

[Weezy]

I feel like this happens all the time. I know a few PhDs who started businesses based off work performed that was probably paid by gov't. There's usually intellectual property involved, but nothing substantial.

 

[volinbham]

I feel like this happens all the time. I know a few PhDs who started businesses based off work performed that was probably paid by gov't. There's usually intellectual property involved, but nothing substantial.

If the IP was developed under a grant, at at university or at a govt. lab then the institution funding it owns the IP. They often license it to the inventors but it is owned by the funder.

 

[TennTradition]

If the IP was developed under a grant, at at university or at a govt. lab then the institution funding it owns the IP. They often license it to the inventors but it is owned by the funder.

That's certainly true for most funding agencies.

It seems a bit different with the government after the Bayh-Dole act gave much greater leeway to universities to own the patent to work performed under government grants. If I'm not mistaken, the government gets zero-fee licensing of the technology, but the university can still license it out to others.

Also, if the inventor is a university professor/student (at last here), I think that the person can get sole non-government licensing of the technology for a certain period of time. It is impressive to me just how good these guys are at spinning out technology and businesses.

 

[utvolpj]

must have learned the scam from Algore