Animal Biotechnology

Carl Gulbrandsen

Carl E. Gulbrandsen is Managing Director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which is the patenting and licensing agency for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1925, WARF was one of the first university-based agencies to systematically develop the fruits of university scientific research.

WARF manages the transfer of UW-Madison technologies -- such as the research that led to the worldwide elimination of childhood rickets to the latest breakthroughs in stem cell investigations -- through patenting and licensing to ensure these discoveries reach the public.

WARF earmarks its earnings to fund additional on-campus research. Those contributions total about $600 million, including buildings, lands and equipment. However, WARF plays no role in determining how these dollars are distributed.

Gulbrandsen received both a Ph.D. in physiology and a law degree from the UW-Madison. He had his own private law practice from 1981-1992, specializing in intellectual property law. In 1992, he joined the Madison companies Lunar Corporation and Bone Care International as general counsel. Both of those companies are based on UW-Madison technology.

Presentation:

Carl Gulbrandsen says: "The talk I intend to give will provide a very brief overview of the legal basis for patents covering biological material and organisms. As a specific example I will talk about human embryonic stem cells HES cells. I will also provide a brief overview of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and its subsidiary WiCell Research Institute which conducts research on HES cells and distributes HES cells to researchers around the world."

From The University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension

Sponsored by a grant from USDA
CSREES
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