UH mouse research settlements kept secret
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The messy legal battle over the University of Hawai'i's internationally recognized mice-cloning discoveries has been settled out of court, but the agreement has been sealed for confidentiality.
All parties to the agreement have forwarded their positions to the Office of Information Practices for a review of whether the public right to know overrides the confidentiality clause.
"All parties agreed to a confidentiality clause," said Walter Kirimitsu, the university's chief legal officer. "The OIP office will issue an official opinion whether the interest of the public to know supercedes a privately entered confidentiality agreement."
An OIP spokeswoman said the parties were forwarding their arguments to the office for a decision. But it's up to the university to release such information.
The legal battle involved a fight over intellectual property rights after the electrifying research headed by Ryuzo Yanagimachi gave the world a cloned mouse, and later one that glowed green.
The first suit came when researcher Anthony Perry, who pioneered a technique to transmit genetic material between animals, called "Honolulu transgenesis," charged that the university had sold rights to market the technique to a biotech company without his consent.
In a countersuit, the university accused Perry of conspiring with Honolulu City Councilman John Henry Felix to use confidential genetic research for personal profit.
The university asked the court to dismiss Perry's suit and award the university undisclosed financial damages. It also sued Felix, who had started a biotech company with Perry to market the technology developed by Perry.
Typically the university owns patent rights to any technology developed by scientists in its laboratories. The university can negotiate with a company to develop the technology for commercial applications, but then shares royalties with the scientist.
Perry came to the university from England on a two-year fellowship.
Reach Bev Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
