Computer architect guru warns universities on patents

WHILE STACKS of hacks are listening to Intel strut its stuff in California, right across the other side of world, in Spain, there's a high performance computing conference happening.

And at a panel meeting earlier today, Yale Patt, one of the top gurus of computer architecture, warned universities that they should stop trying to patent their inventions because it's to no good purpose.

Patt said that rewarding people extra for productive research is not necessarily a good thing. Teaching is pretty important and should not be relegated to the bottom of the list at academic institutions.

Pure research that produce top notch students will get their results out of concentrating on this, rather than playing the patent game.

Meanwhile another top guru, Mark Hill, has come down from the mountain with a list of the 10 commandments of pure technology transfer.

They are to always work 30 years in the future, always start with a clean slate, don't be encumbered by past successes, and publishing papers is the end of research and technology transfer.

Other items include never consulting for industry, and don't tell the industry what you are doing until patents are filed.