Talk:The Application Deterioration/@comment-98.20.170.108-20160313231215

The only way the guys could benefit from filing a patent is to let Howard file it alone. Since he's considered a government employee on loan from NASA, the university has no claim on him. The governments policy on employee patents are as follows:

Federal law provides that all rights to inventions created by federal employees (whether civilian or military) belong to the government if the invention was:
 * made during working hours, or
 * made with the government’s resources, including money, facilities, equipment, materials, information, or the help of other government employees on official duty, or
 * directly related to the inventor’s official duties or made because of those duties. (37 C.F.R. § 501.6.)
 * None of thses apply since they came up with the idea at the tiki bar. The information came from Leonard and Sheldon (not government employees), and it was not a part of Howard's official duties.