Former DND scientist says his treatment by feds should be warning to others
By Collin Gallant on September 27, 2017.
Medicine Hat News Self-publishing is often the domain of the wronged plaintiff and defendant — those who assess themselves as legally hard done by often turn to the venue to tell their story, but find few readers. However, the offering by Stephen Murray, a retired top scientist at defence research facility at CFB Suffield, should however, garner some interest of readers in the area. A 45-minute presentation on Tuesday at the Medicine Hat Public Library ran through his 410-page, heavily detailed tome, “Davis and Goliath.” It lays out several decades of a patent dispute he and three colleagues launched after they claim their research was improperly licensed over a near 25-year span and the licence improperly enforced. He says several federal agencies failed to fully grasp the technical or commercial possibilities when licensing it, then failed again by not pursuing remedies. It’s a specialized, narrow topic, written by a mechanical engineering Ph.D, but a story that should appeal to industry insiders and the local scientific community. “There’s a rosy story and a very, very dark story here,” Murray said to introduce the subject on Tuesday. His team successfully tasked with cloaking naval vessels from missile attack following the Falklands Islands War. Eventually the resulting device has been installed on more than 100 warships and about 1,000 helicopters, Murray claims, by an Ottawa engineering firm. A lawsuit for royalties against the government was ceased in 2008 without costs awarded or fault found. The driver of the lengthy litigation, bureaucratic complaints and some intrigue is a claim that three men are owed $90,000. Ottawa’s loss is up to $30 million, claims Murray. His personal stake, “it’s peanuts,” he said during a brief question period with the 16-person audience. “I’m hoping (the book) will create the necessary debate that prevents this from happening to other public servant inventors.” The News has not been able to verify the claims in the book. Murray himself says he’s taken great efforts to defend himself from liable accusation. The book is available on Amazon. One copy resides at the public library. 17-16
