Patent Dispute Prison Sentence Ends

A former chemistry student convicted of grand theft in a patent dispute with the University of South Florida was freed after nearly two years in prison, including eight weeks on a chain gang. Petr Taborsky, a 35-year-old Czech citizen, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison when he refused to sign over a patent to the school. As a lab assistant 10 years ago he discovered a process that turns a type of clay into a cheap way to treat sewage. But the university claimed ownership of the invention. Taborsky was convicted of grand theft and theft of trade secrets.