Retired defence scientist to tell story of how he was wronged over warship cloaking device

A retired defence scientist who claims he was wronged when the Canadian government improperly licensed a device to cloak warships — and gave up millions of dollars in the process — will lay out the issue tonight at the public library.

Adding to the intrigue, author Stephen Murray says after he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, national security officials have inquired about the content of his presentation and his book on the subject.

It takes place at 7 p.m. at the Medicine Hat Public Library, but don’t expect state secrets to be unfurled, just what Murray calls a warning for government researchers and taxpayers.

“I want it on the record,” said Murray, who told the News a decadeslong legal battle was dismissed in 2013 when he and three others balked at an offer of $35,000 — equal to one third what they claimed in a counter offer.

“In the end we didn’t get a cent,” said Murray, who resigned from his post with the department in 2008, but continued to do some contract work.

“We felt we’d been mistreated. The whole idea of intellectual property has been a difficult concept for the government. I wanted to get that out there.”

The Ph.D. in mechanical engineering says the story should be of interest to anyone employed in research or where patents are involved.

He’s published a 410-page book detailing the lawsuit, which he says he was forced to abandon after years due to mounting costs and the death of another inventors.

The title “Davis and Goliath” is a reference to military contractor W.R. Davis.

He says he made a personal painstaking effort to ensure nothing top secret was included, and also includes a survey of the government’s case, he says, to avoid liable.

Murray claims a device used by military to avoid surveillance techniques that he and two other research scientists, based at CFB Suffield defence research complex, was improperly licensed to a private contractor.

He said the policy at the time was to see 10 per cent of flow to the government and then 15 per cent of that to inventors.

Though he received “almost no royalties” after the device was licensed, but wound up being installed on at least 95 warships, including Canadian patrol frigates and destroyers, and 1,000 helicopters in naval fleets around the world by the late 1990s, when the government let the patent lapse.

He estimated that $1 billion in sales should net $30 million for the government.

None of Murray’s allegations have been proven in court.