The Fortune reporter knows full well:
 
(1) the onion seed pollination work was done for a large U.S.  company, 
there was no grant received from Bayer,
 
(2) the acoustic recorder is better at pesticide detection than  pathogens 
- the latter part of the development is an ongoing research  project still 
being funded by USDA.  
 
(3) we weren't asked by NYT to disclose our funding sources, it wasn't  
brought up, and there was no need since this information is required by  PloS 
ONE before they will even review a paper.  You can find it on the PloS  ONE 
site.
 
(4) Bee Alert  Technology, Inc. is a technology transfer company  that is 
legally recognized as an independent company in the State of  Montana, 
affiliated with the University of Montana.  It is MT  State Board of Regents 
Approved and has been since the early 2000s.  Intellectual property agreements 
are in place, stipulating issues such as  patents, IP rights, licensing, and 
if we ever make any money - which seems a  LONG way off, the University 
receives an established royalty for research and  education.  
 
This all came about because of  changes in Federal Law ensuing from  the 
1980  Bayh–Dole Act or University and Small Business Patent  Procedures Act.  
This is _United States_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)  
_legislation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law)  dealing with  intellectual 
property arising from _federal  government-funded research_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_funding#Government-funded_research) . Adopted in _1980_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980) , Bayh-Dole is codified in _35  U.S.C._ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_35_of_the_United_States_Code)  _§ 200_ 
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/35/200.html) -212_[1]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayh–Dole_Act#endnote_35USC200212) , and implemented by 37 _C.F.R._ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Federal_Regulations)   401_[2]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayh–Dole_Act#endnote_37CFR401) . Among other 
things, it gave U.S. universities, small  businesses and non-profits 
_intellectual  property_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property)  control 
of their _inventions_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention)  and other  
intellectual property that resulted from such funding.
 
The Fortune article presents an assortment of lies and  half-truths by a 
reporter who left another magazine before it folded.   Unfortunately, this 
article has spawned a copy by New Yorker Magazine that added  an even more 
inflammatory headline and chose to emphasize some of Ms Eban's  more outrageous 
claims of what she alleges I said.  
 
The NEW version of this fiction appears at:
_http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/bee_mystery_unsolved_lead_inve.html_ 
(http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/bee_mystery_unsolved_lead_inve.html)  
and  it also encourages reader comment, as does Fortune.
 
The only good thing about all this is that it can still generate a  smile, 
courtesy of friends - such as the proposed title sent to me “Fortune’s 
Misfortune – Smearing  Scientists Is Liable To Be Libel “.
 
Thanks to all.   Jerry
 
 

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