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Professor gains rights for fuel cell project

In March, Iraj Parchamazad and the ULV science department unveiled their hydrogen fuel cell technology in front of school officials, media representatives and awaiting recreational vehicle entrepreneurs. The fuel cell technology research backed by outside investors has come under scrutiny by the University for intellectual property rights. / photo by Jason Cooper
In March, Iraj Parchamazad and the ULV science department unveiled their hydrogen fuel cell technology in front of school officials, media representatives and awaiting recreational vehicle entrepreneurs. The fuel cell technology research backed by outside investors has come under scrutiny by the University for intellectual property rights. / photo by Jason Cooper

by Tim Tevault
Arts & Entertainment Editor

Iraj Parchamazad, Chemistry Department chairman, is bringing recognition to ULV as a research institution through his groundbreaking research in fuel cell technology.

“This technology is so new that nobody has it,” Parchamazad said. “Right now we are on top of this technology.”

After months of painstaking negotiations among lawyers for Parchamazad, ULV and investors for the project, a resolution was readied: Parchamazad will still be able to conduct his research at ULV while maintaining funding from investors.

One of the main problems Parchamazad faced was the lack of a university patent policy to secure his “intellectual property rights,” said Jay Jones, director of instructional technology and research support.

“One of the things Iraj is adamant about is having some measure of determination of what the project is actually going after in order to assure the success of the project,” Jones said.

“I want to have all the control,” Parchamazad said.

One reason he wanted control was because he believes he has the knowledge to make the project move at a productive speed, he said.

In an interview last spring, Parchamazad told La Verne Magazine that the fuel cell is “a battery-like machine” that “transforms purified water and clean-burning fuels into the everyday energy demands of life it works as a long-lasting, quiet and fuel-efficient generator that will eliminate nuclear fossil fuel energy production.”

“If this technology were to permeate the culture in five years, it would mean that we could get by on 60 percent of the natural gas or petroleum that we use for fuel currently,” Jones said.

Because ULV is not primarily a research institution, it did not have a previous policy for patents and inventions.

“We don’t have a researching projects office. We need that here,” Jones said, adding, “hopefully that function is coming into existence.”

This led Parchamazad and his lawyers to begin contract negotiations with ULV administration for the intellectual property rights for his invention.

Parchamazad said the university wanted the intellectual property rights at first.

“For a strong university this century, you need more resources for funding than tuition,” Parchamazad said. “This technology can bring another very safe resource financially, as well as (a good) image of the university.”

“Iraj deeply wants to make this project a university project,” Jones said. “He cares a lot for this university.”

A settlement was reached after months of negotiations and ULV signed the contract, releasing all intellectual property rights to Parchamazad.

“Finally on Oct. 4, the contract got signed,” he said. “What I agreed was if the university put money, they can get patent rights.”

With these rights, Parchamazad has the control he wants, and can assign the patent rights to whichever investor he chooses. In addition to the overhead money ULV receives from the contract agreement, they get an additional percent of royalties from the invention.

Helping sway the university’s opinion were the support emails received by ULV President Stephen Morgan, Executive Vice President, Phil Hawkey and Academic Provost Richard McDowell.

George Keeler, professor of journalism, sent an email out days before the contract deadline, asking for staff to send letters of encouragement of Parchamazad’s project and how it could benefit the university as well as the faculty.

“The University of La Verne is proud to support the research work of Dr. Parchamazad. The work that Dr. Parchamazad is doing with fuel cell development is bringing recognition to the University as a place of serious research, which supports the excellent teaching provided by our faculty,” said Hawkey.

As a result of Parchamazad’s efforts, Jones believes ULV will resolve all issues with intellectual property rights.

“We’ll have an intellectual property policy. It’s very important that we not try to just pattern after other established institutions. The University of La Verne is in part successful because we do things a little bit differently.”

Tim Tevault
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