UNR innovation center untouched by lawsuit

The University of Nevada, Reno's center for innovation will not be hurt by a recent court decision affecting its sponsor.

For 20 years, UNR's Center for Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship has taught college students and public school teachers about the product development process, including the intricacies of patent law.

It is funded with $100,000 annual grant from the Lemelson Foundation, a $70 million foundation established by prolific inventor and patent-holder Jerome Lemelson.

A limited partnership of the foundation - Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation - has for the last several years been embroiled in a lawsuit over its patents related to automatic identification bar code technology.

Earlier this month, the United States District Court, District of Nevada, found in favor of the case's plaintiffs Symbol Technologies Inc., Accu-sort Systems Inc., Intermec Technologies Corp., Metrologic Instruments Inc., PSC Inc., Teklogix Corp., Zebra Technologies Corp.

and Cognex Corp.

District Court Judge Philip M.

Pro said the 14 patents in question are invalid and unenforcable, eliminating the partnership's ability to collect licensing fees on barcode scanning technology related to those patents.

According to Karen Swobe, managing director, R&R Partners in Reno, the suit will not affect UNR's program, which receives its money from the Lemelson Foundation.

Currently, the center run by John Kleppe, chairman of electrical engineering, is teaching 74 students who have formed 13 pseudo-companies that are developing products.

The center also teaches elementary and high school teachers, who in turn instruct their students.

The impetus, said Kleppe, was a dearth of practical business education in schools.

"We had classes come in because no one teaches how America really works."