Academic freedom to invent rather than university socialism is the core to a healthy innovation culture.*
In the US state of Washington, Senator Maralyn Chase has introduced Senate Bill 6542, the Innovation Bill of Rights. The bill proposes a law that would forbid public universities from making assignment of inventions compulsory as a condition of employment or use of facilities, unless required by an external sponsor of research. This bill sparked quite a debate, with the university leaders arguing for institutional socialism and the faculty wondering whatever happened to academic freedom.
At the core of the…
