Early Twentieth-Century Canadian Medical Patent Law in Practice: James Bertram Collip and the Discovery of Emmenin

Type of resource
Authors/collaborators
Title
Early Twentieth-Century Canadian Medical Patent Law in Practice: James Bertram Collip and the Discovery of Emmenin
Abstract
In the 1930s, James Bertram Collip (1892–1965) purified, standardized, and then commercialized the hormone Emmenin at McGill University. He was Chair of Biochemistry at McGill from 1928 to 1941, and had previously worked with Banting and Best on the discovery of insulin. The author focuses on the history of Collip's development of Emmenin at McGill and considers how Collip used (and avoided) the legal tools of intellectual property to his advantage, given his complicated place as a scientist/business person/academic/physician-inventor in the inter-war era. The author argues that Collip's story is significant as a case study as it lends nuance to the picture of the Canadian inventor, shows the daring foresight of early Canadian commercialization business models, and explores the influences that eventually led to the development of university technology transfer offices in Canada. It also highlights germinal moments in the negotiation of standardized agreements and university–industry partnerships.
Publication
University of Toronto Law Journal
Volume
Vol. 60
Issue
no. 3
Pages
855-891
Date
Summer 2010
Language
en
Citation
Marier, Virginie, and Tina Piper. “Early Twentieth-Century Canadian Medical Patent Law in Practice: James Bertram Collip and the Discovery of Emmenin.” University of Toronto Law Journal Vol. 60, no. 3 (Summer 2010): 855–891.
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