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This is not the first time a city employee got away: Consider the Purvis Systems controversy as reported in the 3/13/08 Beacon. A criminal investigation by the Rhode Island State Police found no problem after interviewing the mayor.

It was my recommendation at the time that this matter be referred to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation because the funds involved were Federal Highway Administration grants. That never happened. That is why it was not a State of Rhode Island problem. The State Police told me that they did not have jurisdiction over a federal grant issue.

Under federal grant regulations when the grant was closed the author of the software -- a Warwick Firefighter -- was required to file a "invention claim". He never did so. It did not matter whether he did the work on his own time or was paid for it. Federal grants are often carried out by volunteer efforts. The fruits of the grants still belong to the federal government even if the researcher did not receive one dime in compensation. In this case, the researcher was hugely rewarded by subsequently selling the grant work to Purvis Systems.

Because of this failure, the property is actually owned by the federal government and Warwick should not be paying $30,000 per year for maintenance. See below.

Beacon Story:

"It sounds like we should be getting the software for free for many more years. The intent, from what I can see, was to write the software, give it to the city, and maintain it for free." City Council Vice President Steven Merolla (D-Ward 9) agrees. Because a city employee developed the software, Merolla believes the employee had no right to sell the software to another company. "They're telling me that this product was developed using the Warwick Fire Department as a test site and the employee didn't use any city time to get that done? Come on! Give me a break," said Merolla. "What this guy did was sell the software rights to another company that he didn't have all the rights to."

Merolla, a lawyer himself, suggests legal action.

"I would suggest we hire an intellectual property attorney to sue Purvis if they're going to continue to charge us $30,000 a year," he said.

Mayor Scott Avedisian said the contract is a good deal for the city, especially considering the fact that the city spent no money on developing the software or purchasing the hardware. He also noted that the funds are already part of the Management Information Systems departmental budget.

"I don't know what they'll do, but I'm hoping we can continue our relationship with Purvis so we'll continue to have the best possible information technology system for Fire and Rescue," said Avedisian."

From: City’s 'catch and release' policy

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