The federal government told Harvard University on Friday it could take control of the school’s patents stemming from federally funded research — the latest in a months-long feud between the Trump administration and the Ivy League college.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is launching an “immediate comprehensive review” of whether Harvard has complied with federal laws around patents, he said in a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber.
The patents in question could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a senior administration official said, and in his letter, Lutnick threatened to grant third-party licenses to Harvard’s patents or take the titles to any patents where Harvard has failed to comply with government title and disclosure requirements.
Lutnick ordered the Massachusetts-based school to provide information on all patents that it obtained through federally funded research.
“We believe that Harvard has failed to live up to its obligations to the American taxpayer and is in breach of the statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements tied to Harvard’s federally funded research programs and intellectual property arising therefrom,” Lutnick said.
He gave Harvard until Sept. 5 to respond and prove it’s complying with the Bayh-Dole Act. Under that legislation, universities receiving federal research grants have to show that inventions issuing from that funding are being used to benefit Americans.
The Trump administration wants Harvard to provide a list of all the patents it has that stem from federal grants, how the patents are currently being applied and details about licensing agreements, including whether they mandate “substantial U.S. manufacturing” and the identities of the licensees.
A Harvard spokesperson called the move “yet another retaliatory effort targeting Harvard for defending its rights and freedom.”
“Technologies and patents developed at Harvard are life-saving and industry-redefining. We are fully committed to complying with the Bayh-Dole Act and ensuring that the public is able to access and benefit from the many innovations that arise out of federally funded research at Harvard,” the spokesperson said.
The Trump administration has paused or cut off billions in federal research funding to Harvard, accusing the university of failing to deal with campus antisemitism. Harvard has sued over the funding freezes, alleging the government is illegally punishing the school for First Amendment-protected activity and trying to “force Harvard to submit to the Government’s control over its academic programs.”
Before the funding cutoff, the administration demanded that Harvard agree to changes — including an external audit of certain academic departments, an end to DEI programs and stricter disciplinary policies — if it wants to maintain its “financial relationship” with the federal government. Harvard rejected the demands.
President Trump has also pushed the Internal Revenue Service to review Harvard’s tax-exempt status. And he directed his administration to bar most foreign students from traveling to the U.S. to study at Harvard, though a judge blocked that move.
Mr. Trump has suggested he’s open to making a deal with Harvard. Some other Ivy League schools that faced funding freezes have cut deals with the administration, with Columbia University and Brown University making various concessions to the federal government.
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