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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is threatening to take over hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Harvard University patents and other inventions whose creation was funded by taxpayers, according to a Friday letter reviewed by The Post.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick fired off the missive to Harvard President Alan Garber, demanding a full accounting of the federal money that went to the Ivy League school’s patents by Sept. 5.
“The Department is also initiating the ‘march-in’ process under the Bayh-Dole Act pursuant to which the U.S. government intends to to grant third-party licenses to Harvard’s patents or take title where Harvard has failed timely to disclose or elect title to inventions,” the letter stated.
The law forces inventors to disclose which federal grants resulted in patents and submit timely reports about how the patents are being used — with some provisions for “products based on the inventions” to ensure the items are “manufactured substantially within the US,” a senior administration official said, adding that the 1980 law also states that Americans should reap the benefits from such inventions.
Lutnick accused the Cambridge, Mass., university of having “failed to live up to its obligations to the American taxpayer” with its patent authority.
A failure to comply with the Act’s terms allows the federal government to take ownership of a university’s patents and/or issue third-party licenses.
The Post reached out to Harvard reps for comment.
