A recent federal appeals court ruling will make it easier for postdocs and low-ranking faculty members to seek legal recourse if they think they've been cheated out of their fair share of intellectual property rights. Junior academics have long complained that when it comes to reaping the financial rewards of scientific discoveries, they're often shortchanged. Former University of Chicago postdoc Joany Chou insists that II years ago she discovered a variant herpesvirus gene that might be used to make a vaccine. Her lab chief Bernard Roizman, a top virologist, and the school patented the gene four years later. Though her case was dismissed by a federal judge, a three-memher panel of the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit in Washington unanimously upheld Chou's right to sue for proceeds, setting precedent, says Chou's attorney Paul Vickery. The appellate ruling, of course, did not address the validity of Chou's claim. "We still have to prove our case, but we're pretty confident of winning this on its merits," Vickery says. The trial is expected early in 2002. Chou will seek "millions" of dollars, but hasn't set an exact amount yet. "We still have to determine how much the defendants made;' he explains.
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