Is intellectual property lost forever?

At the Un1iversity of Hawai'i-Manoa, many researchers are still dealing with the loss of years of research data, specimens and collections. But what compensation can a researcher receive to replace it?

"It is a really difficult situation, and it is a situation that is now happening all over the South (as a result of Hurricane Katrina)," said Gary Ostrander, vice chancellor of research and graduate education at UH-Manoa. Ostrander hopes that as more universities deal with these problems, there will be "a realization that these are real issues."

First, researchers are being asked to identify critical needs in order to continue working, said Ostrander. Then, an assessment will determine the cost of replacing the data or specimen and if it is actually replaceable. As the money becomes available, it would be disbursed to replace what researchers need, said Ostrander.

"The fact is, some things may not be replaceable," said Ostrander.

But not all spending can be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agen-cy aid program, said Sam Callejo, vice president of administration at UH. "If the researchers can say, 'This is what I need to get back to where I was,' then we have to spend the money up front and ask FEMA if this is something they would reimburse us for," said Callejo.

And simply giving researchers money will not solve all of their problems.

"Whatever they lost, researchers are going to have to go out and collect those things again," said Callejo. And for some researchers who spent 30 years collecting data or specimens, that may not be so easy to do, he said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.