May 3, 2002

Colleges Fight Bill on Inventions

By RICHARD MORGAN

Higher-education lobbyists are intensifying their opposition to legislation that would hold state colleges to the same standards as companies in disputes over intellectual-property rights.

The measure would make it more difficult for colleges to claim immunity from federal lawsuits under the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a privilege they have won in a string of recent Supreme Court cases.

The bill, known as the Intellectual Property Protection Restoration Act of 2002,