Medical Research Company Files Claim against University
MMAS Research, LLC and its founder, Dr. Morisky, are suing the University of California for, among other claims, copyright infringement based on the unauthorized use of a proprietary medication-adherence test known as the MMAS. Dr. Morisky, a former UCLA professor, claims multiple infringing uses involving PhD student Linda Park and medical research co-author Selena Zuo.
The copyrighted tests created by Dr. Morisky (the MMAS-4 and the MMAS-8) consist of patient surveys with either 4 or 8 questions designed to assess a patient's degree of adherence to the medication regimen prescribed to him or her by a physician in the treatment of a specific diagnosis. The test questions themselves have associated copyright registrations, as do the translations, codings, and scorings of the test results.
During the years 2014 to 2017, Park and Zuo used and referenced the MMAS tests in connection with medication-adherence research and, later, publication. Morisky claims this use was unauthorized and constitutes copyright infringement, among other violations. Park participated in research efforts analyzing the effectiveness of text messages in promoting patient adherence to medication treating coronary artery disease while Zuo's research focused on medication non-adherence in patients with end-stage liver disease. Both authors referred directly to their use of the Morisky tests in the publications resulting from their respective areas of research.
The complaint was filed in federal court against the authors as well as the Regents of the University of California in late November of 2018. Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and request injunctions, attorney's fees, and compensatory and punitive damages.