OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENEFL4L
OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS
CLOSEOUT MEMORANDUM
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Case Number: A-04060044 Page 1 of 1
On 18 June 2004, we received an allegation that the same ideas in a competing NSF proposal'
appeared in the subjects' (subject 1, the PI, and subjects 2,3,4, and 5, the co-PIS)NSF proposal2
under review at the same time. It was alleged these ideas had been stolen from earlier NSF
proposals submitted by the PI and co-PISof the competing NSF proposal.
Our review determined that the ideas that appeared similar in the competing and subjects' NSF
proposals were not unique to either group of investigators. The ideas appeared in the existing
scientific literature. Also, we noted that subject 1 had been working in the particular area of
research presented in the proposal for over 10 years.
There is no substance the alleged intellectual theft of ideas in the subjects' NSF proposal. This
I'
NSF OIG Fom 2 (1 1/02)
Intellectual Theft
Published by the National Science Foundation, Office of Inspector General on 2004-09-14.
Below is a raw (and likely hideous) rendition of the original report. (PDF)