UC Berkeley

In 2003, the University of California at Berkeley began its Socially Responsible IP Management Program, which aims to “promote widespread availability of technology and healthcare, including in the developing world.” The UAEM chapter at Berkeley has been cited by the university as instrumental in moving these policies forward.

Berkeley argues that the “opportunity cost of giving away University-generated therapies, diagnostics, and other research technologies for free… is low compared to the societal benefit… Giving away rights for a charitable purpose in developing countries … usually does not affect commercial markets in developed countries.” When possible, Berkeley defines a “Charitable Objective” as being the availability of the product in developing countries at low cost, and requires licensees to meet this objective, either themselves or by issuing sublicenses to additional parties who can (e.g. generic manufacturers).

Specific projects include:

• Licensing a hand-held immuno-diagnostic for Dengue fever to a non-profit company with royalty-free sales in certain countries. 
• Issuing a license for agricultural solutions to plant disease resistance, with conditions that no-cost sublicenses are available in “least developed” countries. 
• Agreeing with a for-profit company sponsoring TB vaccine research at Berkeley that distribution will be royalty-free in certain countries if a vaccine is successful.
• Making advance commitments to grant royalty free licenses for humanitarian use for products of research funding by certain federal and foundation sources. 
• Issued a royalty-free licence on a process invented by one of its scientists, Jay Keasling, in which engineered yeast churn out the malaria drug artemisinin (see Nature 440, 852–853; 2006 doi:10.1038/440852b)

Berkeley’s efforts have attracted donations from the Gates Foundation for malaria research and for development of more nutritious sorghum for Africa, as well as a $1.8 million gift from Gilead Sciences.