James A. Thomson, the eminent stem-cell researcher, has accepted a part-time post at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the journal Nature reported today. Mr. Thomson will spend one month a year in California and the rest at his parent institution, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, whose patenting arm owns three controversial and lucrative patents, awarded to Mr. Thomson, on techniques to isolate stem cells from human embryos.

This past spring, the patents were struck down in a preliminary finding by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The interactions between California and Wisconsin over Mr. Thomson’s patents have not been smooth. Last fall, four universities, including Mr. Thomson’s new part-time employer, sent the University of Wisconsin a letter complaining about Wisconsin’s licensing requirements. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the patenting arm, subsequently backed down.

Wisconsin has also argued that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the agency created to disburse $3-billion in state funds to stem-cell researchers, should pay licensing fees similar to those paid by industry, not academe. Now a blogger, David Jensen, notes that Mr. Thomson’s imminent arrival at Santa Barbara had helped the university win a $2.3-million grant from the same agency. —Lila Guterman