Patricia B.
Swan
Swan
Managing Intellectual Property at Iowa State University
(1923-1998)
Written by a former university official, Managing Intellectual Property at
Iowa State University (1923-1998) provides a rare glimpse inside a
university's management of intellectual property. Former Vice Provost and
Dean Patricia Swan has captured many intriguing and often unexpected
stories in her narrative, including accounts of the university's blue cheese
patent that helped to establish the blue cheese industry in the United States;
of an engineering professor who tried to help the farm economy by
inventing new uses for corn stalks and new ways to remove the oil from
soybeans; of losing the chance to patent the first electronic digital
computer, but after many years aiding the inventor in establishing the
priority of his invention; of an innovative method of feeding beef cattle that
became the standard within the industry; of a major broadcasting firm that
used fragments of a film made by two university students and denied doing
so; of the university's research foundation almost losing its way in a
morass of real estate deals; of the research foundation's pioneering actions
in patenting plant materials; and, finally, its recovery aided by the
successful pursuit of infringers of a patented technology used in modern
facsimile machines.
While telling these stories, Swan describes the circumstances in which they
occurred as well as the associated finances. Although she focuses on the
activities of Iowa State, at several points Swan compares Iowa State's
experiences to those of the University of Wisconsin and other universities,
while also describing some of the conditions external to universities that
influenced intellectual property management through the years.
Readers interested in the management of university intellectual property will
find much food for thought in the richly described experiences. Those
who are or have been associated with Iowa State University, will find
revealed remarkable and previously unknown aspects of that revered
institution's history.
Paperback, 356 pages, 6.14x9.21, $34.95
Cloth Cover with Dust Jacket, 356 pages, 6.14x9.21, $44.95
(1923-1998)
Written by a former university official, Managing Intellectual Property at
Iowa State University (1923-1998) provides a rare glimpse inside a
university's management of intellectual property. Former Vice Provost and
Dean Patricia Swan has captured many intriguing and often unexpected
stories in her narrative, including accounts of the university's blue cheese
patent that helped to establish the blue cheese industry in the United States;
of an engineering professor who tried to help the farm economy by
inventing new uses for corn stalks and new ways to remove the oil from
soybeans; of losing the chance to patent the first electronic digital
computer, but after many years aiding the inventor in establishing the
priority of his invention; of an innovative method of feeding beef cattle that
became the standard within the industry; of a major broadcasting firm that
used fragments of a film made by two university students and denied doing
so; of the university's research foundation almost losing its way in a
morass of real estate deals; of the research foundation's pioneering actions
in patenting plant materials; and, finally, its recovery aided by the
successful pursuit of infringers of a patented technology used in modern
facsimile machines.
While telling these stories, Swan describes the circumstances in which they
occurred as well as the associated finances. Although she focuses on the
activities of Iowa State, at several points Swan compares Iowa State's
experiences to those of the University of Wisconsin and other universities,
while also describing some of the conditions external to universities that
influenced intellectual property management through the years.
Readers interested in the management of university intellectual property will
find much food for thought in the richly described experiences. Those
who are or have been associated with Iowa State University, will find
revealed remarkable and previously unknown aspects of that revered
institution's history.
Paperback, 356 pages, 6.14x9.21, $34.95
Cloth Cover with Dust Jacket, 356 pages, 6.14x9.21, $44.95
About the Author
Apart from a year during which she was the Interim Provost, from October 1989
through 1999, Patricia Brintnall Swan served as the Vice Provost for Research and
Advanced Studies and Dean of the Graduate College at Iowa State University. In this
capacity she exercised administrative oversight of the university's management of
intellectual property. During her tenure, Swan established and chaired the university's
Coordinating Council on Technology Transfer and represented the university on the
boards of the Ames Economic Development Commission and the state-wide Wallace
Technology Transfer Foundation.
Apart from a year during which she was the Interim Provost, from October 1989
through 1999, Patricia Brintnall Swan served as the Vice Provost for Research and
Advanced Studies and Dean of the Graduate College at Iowa State University. In this
capacity she exercised administrative oversight of the university's management of
intellectual property. During her tenure, Swan established and chaired the university's
Coordinating Council on Technology Transfer and represented the university on the
boards of the Ames Economic Development Commission and the state-wide Wallace
Technology Transfer Foundation.
Patricia B. Swan's Books Are Published by Westview, Inc. |