Paul Michel Award

Paul Michel Award

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IPWatchdog is pleased to announce that Joseph Allen, the Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, a non-profit organization composed of universities, companies, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and others who are committed to celebrating and protecting the landmark law, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the Paul Michel Award. He will be presented with the award on Sunday evening, September 29, 2024, at IPWatchdog LIVE 2024.

The Paul Michel Award, created with the blessing of Chief Judge Paul Michel (CAFC, ret.), is awarded annually to someone within the IP community who has selflessly served the best interests of the industry and its members as a respected leader, mentor, and advocate on behalf of fairness and for the best interests of the intellectual property system.

It is hard to imagine someone more deserving of the Paul Michel Award than Joe Allen. Joe has literally spent his entire career working on, championing, and defending the Bayh-Dole Act, the revolutionary law passed almost two generations ago, which gave universities ownership over the patents they produce, which unlocked university innovations so they could be licensed by the private sector. Joe, while on Senator Birch Bayh’s staff, became the staffer in charge of handling the Bayh-Dole Act, and worked closely with Senator Bayh and others to get the bill across the finish line. Joe then worked to implement the new law, and he has been a tireless advocate over the years as opponents continue to challenge Bayh-Dole seemingly every year. Today Joe is the Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole coalition. It is difficult to think about where things would be without his tireless leadership and advocacy on this critical issue.